Kai Kara-France likes his chances against either UFC 310 headliner.
Flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja (28-5 MMA, 12-3 UFC) defends his title against former RIZIN champion Kai Asakura (21-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) in Saturday’s main event (pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Kara-France (24-11 MMA, 7-4 UFC) is coming off a knockout win over former title challenger Steve Erceg at UFC 305 in August. He was initially surprised to see a newcomer get the title fight, but looks forward to someday challenging the winner of Pantoja vs. Asakura.
“I feel like I could definitely knock out Kai or Pantoja,” Kara-France said in an interview with Engage. “So, that’s why I’ll be tuning in. …If Pantoja wins, let’s fight in New Zealand. I’ll headline it, me and him for the title, in front of my people.
“I’m sure he wants to travel, come down under and get to see something different. That would be a dream. There’s a story (if Asakura wins) as well. I would love to go back over there, fight in Super Saitama Arena, in front of all the Japanese fans and fight for the title there. That would be awesome.”
Although Kara-France’s win over Erceg snapped a two-fight losing skid, “Don’t Blink” explains why him facing the winner of Pantoja vs. Asakura would make sense.
“I feel like I had done enough,” Kara-France said. “Just the state of the flyweight division, everyone’s fought everyone two or three times now. I haven’t fought Pantoja since 2016 being on ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ and that was only two rounds. That should have gone to a third round because that was a close fight, but look how much time has passed, eight years.
“We’re both the face of the flyweight division. Him as a champ now, Pantoja, doing really well. I haven’t fought him in the UFC, but I’ve fought (Brandon) Moreno, (Brandon) Royval, and I’ve fought Amir (Albazi), and those are the only guys in front of me. So, it just makes sense for me to fight Pantoja if he gets past Kai Asakura, and if he (Asakura) wins, then Kai vs. Kai.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.
