Kai Kara-France calm ahead of UFC 317 title fight: 'I know what the expectations are'
Kai Kara-France calm ahead of UFC 317 title fight: 'I know what the expectations are' Veteran Kai Kara-France finds himself in a different mindset ahead of his second UFC title bout.
Kai Kara-France enters his UFC flyweight championship opportunity at a great time in his life.
The veteran fighter says he's at a much better place right now as he enters the biggest fight in his MMA career. Kara-France (25-11 MMA, 8-4 UFC) takes on champion Alexandre Pantoja (29-5 MMA, 13-3 UFC) in the co-main event of UFC 317 on June 28 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Kara-France fought for a UFC interim title in 2022, but was stopped by Brandon Moreno with a third-round TKO.
Kara-France plans on using that experience paired with his new mentality to bring home the belt.
"This year will be my 15th year fighting professionally, so I've been doing it for a long time. But now I'm just doing it with more purpose and more fire," Kara-France told Combat TV. "I know that this is my time to do it – with age and maturity and experience. I already fought for the belt before. I know what the pressure feels like. I know what the expectations are. So (I'm) just welcoming it, and this time around ready for it, and this time around not fighting with things that aren't going your way – just letting it all flow. That's where I'm at right now. I'm at a great place and ready to bring back another belt to (City Kickboxing)."
Pantoja vs. Kara-France was rumored for quite some time, and it had several potential dates prior to landing on UFC International Fight Week next month. Finally getting a date for his title opportunity was a huge relief for the Kiwi fighter.
"I thought I was fighting in April against Pantoja in Miami, on the same card that (teammate) Alex (Volkanovski) was fighting on, but things just didn't work out," Kara-France said. "The UFC said, 'No, we want to push it back.' It is hard because you want to peak at the right time, and I'm all in when I get a date and time I'll be fighting, and I'll do everything I can to prepare. I train seven days a week, three times a day, so it's a bit harder when you're in limbo and don't know when that date is because you want to stay active and stay in the gym, but you don't want to take risk of injury, and your immune system is going to be compromised just because you're training so much."
Pantoja, 34, looks to record his fourth flyweight title defense. After claiming the belt by winning a split decision over Moreno at UFC 290, Pantoja has defended against Brandon Royval, Steve Erceg and Kai Asakura. For Kara-France, 31, he looks to build on his first-round finish of Erceg at UFC 305 in August. Prior to that, he was on a two-fight losing skid that included the title loss to Moreno and a close split decision loss to Amir Albazi.
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