Israel Adesanya enters UFC Hall of Fame fight wing for Kelvin Gastelum bout in 2019
When the opportunity to clinch UFC gold first presented itself to Israel Adesanya, the Last Stylebender walked through the fire to have it wrapped around his waist.
That opportunity came at UFC 236 in Atlanta in 2019, where he and American Kelvin Gastelum contested the interim middleweight title as
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Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Otago Daily Times
Kiwi taps out in title challenge
Alexandre Pantoja and Kai Kara-France (front) wrestle during their title fight, in Las Vegas, yesterday. PHOTOS: IMAGN IMAGES VIA REUTERS New Zealand's UFC star Kai Kara-France came up short in his flyweight division title challenge yesterday. Kara-France was submitted in a dominant display from Brazilian Alexandre Pantoja, as the New Zealander tapped out in the third round of the UFC 317 co-main event in Las Vegas. After a dominant first two rounds from Pantoja, the Brazilian dragged Kara-France to the mat early in the third round. He used a rear naked choke to eventually force Kara-France to tap out, defending his title for the fourth-consecutive time. It was Kara-France's second UFC title challenge, having also fallen short against Brandon Moreno in a third-round TKO loss for the interim belt in 2022. In the other main bout Ilia Topuria made good on his promise to finish Charles Oliveira in the first two or three rounds. He knocked out the future UFC hall-of-famer with an explosive combo 2min 27sec into the fight, claiming the vacant UFC lightweight crown. Topuria's win makes him the first undefeated two-division champion in UFC history and the 10th overall. The 28-year-old, who fights under Georgian and Spanish nationalities, ranks third on UFC's pound-for-pound list. Twelfth-ranked lightweight Joshua Van and top contender Brandon Royval engaged in a captivating stand-up brawl that has a legitimate chance at going down as the fight of the year. The performance marked Van's second win in three weeks, after he beat Bruno Gustavo Da Silva at UFC 316 on June 7. Van knocked Royval down in the closing seconds of the fight, before the final bell rang to the loudest crowd pop of the evening. Van won by unanimous decision, 29-28 on all three judges' scorecards. — APL/Reuters
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
UFC 317: Kai Kara-France submits in title shot
Kai Kara-France. Photo: Richard Wainwright/Photosport Kiwi Kai Kara France has fallen short in his bid for UFC flyweight gold, submitted by rear naked choke by the hands of champion Alexandre Pantoja in round three. See what went down at UFC 317 below.
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- NZ Herald
Kara-France v Pantoja: Live updates from UFC 317 in Las Vegas
Follow the action as Kai Kara-France looks to become the UFC flyweight champion at UFC 317 in Las Vegas. Preview of Kai Kara-France v Alexandre Pantoja A lot can change in nine years. In 2016, then-23-year-old UFC flyweight hopeful Kai Kara-France was eliminated from the promotion's scouting programme The Ultimate Fighter by Brazilian Alexandre Pantoja. An exhibition bout, the pair fought over two competitive five-minute rounds, with Pantoja getting the nod from the judges. On Sunday, the pair will meet in the octagon again – with the biggest prize in the sport on the line as Kara-France sets out to relieve Pantoja of the UFC flyweight championship at UFC 317 in Las Vegas. The bout is the co-main event of the pay-per-view card, which headlines the UFC's annual International Fight Week. As the company takes the opportunity to celebrate mixed martial arts this week, including holding its Hall of Fame ceremony, the card at the end of it is usually stacked with big fights that fans want to see happen. That is the case with Kara-France and Pantoja. Their 2016 meeting was an exhibition bout and does not appear on their professional record, hence it not being referred to as Pantoja v Kara-France II in UFC promotional material. Reflecting on that bout, Kara-France said there was little he could take away from it. 'I had to cut weight every week for that fight. I'm not taking away anything from Pantoja, but I felt drained already before that fight even started so I didn't showcase my skill. 'I was performing at probably 50%, just making flyweight every week. And, bro, I was so young. 'Now I'm 32. There's a lot that's changed and I've just got more to fight for. I've got more purpose; just different stages of my life where [my] priorities are a lot different. I've got a family to feed and a family to provide for. I've got a legacy to cement and follow suit of my teammates Izzy [Adesanya] and Alex [Volkanovski] who both won titles. I've got a belt to win myself and that's the plan.' The fact that Kara-France has more to fight for now than he did back then has not been lost on Pantoja either. The reigning UFC champion, who is on a seven-fight winning streak going back to February 2021 noted as much when addressing this weekend's bout. 'Kai Kara-France is a real good guy, he's super humble, and I said to him he looks more dangerous now that he has a family,' Pantoja said. 'When I fought him the first time, he didn't have a family yet, he didn't have kids. Now, he has a family and that makes him more dangerous. I know that because I have my family to fight [for], I have my family to feed. 'I know when the octagon is locked, Kai Kara-France doesn't fight just for himself anymore. He fights for his family.'
