{"rewrite":{"id":"r_a4846f1d2ac1784ceda7aa32","clusterId":"c_9f6bad4431302953d839bb2e","slug":"kai-asakura-reveals-he-considered-retiring-before-first-ufc-win","model":"deepseek-v4-flash","headline":"Kai Asakura Reveals He Considered Retiring Before First UFC Win","summary":"Kai Asakura, the mixed martial artist and YouTuber, updated his YouTube channel on May 31 to reflect on his first UFC victory the previous day. After two consecutive losses since his debut, he secured a first-round KO against Cameron Smotherman in Macau and admitted he was thinking of retiring if he lost.","whyItMatters":"The win ends a two-fight losing streak that had put Asakura's UFC future in doubt and earned him a Performance of the Night bonus, setting up a potential bantamweight run.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eKai Asakura's first UFC win was also his first victory in two years and five months, since his RIZIN title fight against Juan Archuleta. The first-round KO at 1 minute 50 seconds came with former UFC fighter Masanori Kanehara as head coach. Asakura said he finally proved his ability and expressed a desire to fight at the UFC Shanghai event in August, aiming for another KO and a ranked opponent in the bantamweight division.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Kai Asakura says he was thinking of retiring if he lost his third UFC fight. He got the first-round KO and a Performance of the Night bonus.","twitterPost":"Kai Asakura says he was thinking of retiring if he lost his third UFC fight. He got the first-round KO and a Performance of the Night bonus.","threadsPost":null,"newsletterBlurb":"Kai Asakura revealed on his YouTube channel that he considered retiring if he lost his third UFC fight. He secured a first-round KO against Cameron Smotherman, earning a Performance of the Night bonus and ending a two-fight losing streak.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"KAI-YOU\",\"url\":\"https://kai-you.net/article/95559\",\"title\":\"Kai Asakura: 'I Was Thinking of Retiring If I Lost' - Reveals Pressure Before First UFC Win\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":3985,"outputTokens":465,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1780299075,"createdAt":"2026-06-01T07:19:57.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-06-01T07:23:10.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-01T07:23:10.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_9f6bad4431302953d839bb2e","canonicalTitle":"朝倉海「負けたら引退を考えていた」 UFC初勝利までのプレッシャーを吐露","representativeArticleId":"a_02adccbbcce35ca602cfd26f","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[\"朝倉海\"],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"other\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-06-01T06:37:00.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-06-01T06:37:00.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-01T07:23:10.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"KAI-YOU","url":"https://kai-you.net/article/95559","title":"朝倉海「負けたら引退を考えていた」 UFC初勝利までのプレッシャーを吐露"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":[],"studios":[],"people":["朝倉海"],"type":"news","domain":"other","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["Kai Asakura won his first UFC fight on May 30, 2025, by first-round KO at 1 minute 50 seconds against Cameron Smotherman in Macau.","Asakura admitted he was considering retirement if he lost the bout, following two consecutive losses since his UFC debut.","The victory ended a two-year, five-month drought since his last win, a RIZIN title fight against Juan Archuleta in December 2022.","Asakura earned a Performance of the Night bonus for the KO and expressed a desire to fight at UFC Shanghai in August 2025.","Former UFC fighter Masanori Kanehara served as Asakura's head coach for the fight."]}