Latest news with #Kara-France
USA Today
27-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
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.
NZ Herald
14-05-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
UFC 317: Kai Kara-France to challenge Alexandre Pantoja for UFC flyweight title
'So to hear it from the UFC, from Dana [White], that it's happening, [I'm] just ready to work for the next seven weeks and bring my best to bring another belt back to CKB [City Kickboxing]; back to Aotearoa New Zealand.' The Kiwi, currently ranked at No 4 in the division, comes into the bout off the back of a first-round TKO over former title challenger Steve Erceg in Perth last August. That win saw him emerge as the logical choice as Pantoja's next challenger, and the 32-year-old has spent the majority of 2025 preparing as such. 'I've had to pull back heaps of times just because you don't want to peak too soon. It's like a preseason for rugby, that's what a fight camp is. It's a preseason, so you can only do it for so long before you're not actually getting fitter, you're just burning out,' he said. 'At the start of this year, I was guns blazing, didn't go to Vegas for the Warriors game, didn't go to Sydney for the [Sean] Strickland-DDP [Dricus du Plessis] fight, didn't go to Saudi Arabia for Izzy's [Adesanya] fight - there are a lot of things that I didn't want to distract myself because, obviously I thought I was going to be fighting earlier, but I just wanted to focus on the training and to prioritise that. 'I'm glad I did that because now, seven weeks out, if you weren't prepared, it's not that much time. But if you've already been training hard and really putting in the work, there's not much that we need to be doing now. 'It's just sticking to the process, keep turning up, and that's how we're going to bring home this belt; just keep doing what we're doing and the more time the better.' It will be the second time he has fought Pantoja, and doubles as a chance at revenge for Kara-France. Kara-France and Pantoja first squared off during season 24 of The Ultimate Fighter – a reality TV show where prospects compete for a UFC contract – in 2016. Pantoja eliminated Kara-France in the quarter-finals, claiming a unanimous decision win in the two-round exhibition bout. Now, nine years on, Kara-France said there was nothing he could take from that bout, given the circumstances. '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.' It's the second time Kara-France will have fought for UFC gold, after a bout for the interim flyweight title against Brandon Moreno in 2022 saw him fall to a third-round TKO following a pinpoint kick to the liver. Kiwi heavyweight Justin Tafa has also been announced to compete on the card at UFC 317, taking on Brazilian Jhonata Diniz. Both athletes are coming into the bout off the back of TKO losses. The card will take place as the main event in the UFC's International Fight Week – an annual week-long celebration which includes the promotion's Hall of Fame festivities and several other activations for fans and athletes to enjoy. There will be Kiwi action outside of the cage during the week too, with former two-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya to be inducted into the fight wing of the UFC Hall of Fame for his interim middleweight title bout against Kelvin Gastelum in 2019. The bout was a five-round slugfest, with Adesanya claiming a unanimous decision win, and began a run of 12 UFC title fights in a row for The Last Stylebender. 'What he's done in the sport is once in a lifetime. Someone that's been able to make waves as fast and cement a legacy that he has, he's got nothing to prove and he's something that I've always looked up to as the pinnacle,' Kara-France said of Adesanya. 'The one thing that I've always taken away from Izzy is his self-belief. He knew he was going to be a world champion before anyone else, and [I] definitely take that on board.' Confirmed UFC 317 bouts Main event: Charles Oliveira (2) v Ilia Topuria for the vacant lightweight title Middleweight: Paulo Costa (12) v Roman Kopylov (14) Lightweight: Beneil Dariush (9) v Renato Moicano (10) Heavyweight: Jhonata Diniz v Justin Tafa Flyweight: Brandon Royval (1) v Manel Kape (6) Middleweight: Jack Hermansson v Gregory Rodrigues
USA Today
13-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Kara-France flyweight title fight booked for UFC 317
Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Kara-France flyweight title fight booked for UFC 317 The next UFC flyweight championship fight is set. On June 28 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Alexandre Pantoja will look to defend his title against challenger Kai Kara-France at UFC 317. UFC CEO Dana White announced the news Tuesday on Instagram as part of a series of fight announcements. This will be the second time Pantoja (29-5 MMA, 13-3 UFC) and Kara-France (25-11 MMA, 8-4 UFC) share the cage, although everything about this fight is completely different. The pair fought on Season 24 of "The Ultimate Fighter" in a two-round exhibition that Pantoja won by unanimous decision. This time, it's a five-round bout for UFC gold on a major pay-per-view. Pantoja, 34, will look to record his fourth flyweight title defense. After claiming the belt by winning a split decision over Brandon Moreno at UFC 290, Pantoja has defended against Brandon Royval, Steve Erceg and Kai Asakura. For Kara-France, 31, this will be his second opportunity to fight for UFC gold. At UFC 277, he challenged Moreno for the vacant interim title but was finished in the third round. Kara-France then came up short in a thin split decision against Amir Albazi, but he rebounded with a statement first-round finish of Erceg at UFC 305. The latest UFC 317 lineup includes:
