MMAMMA NEWS

Alexandre Pantoja Vs. Kai Kara-France Preview

hasib

23 June 2025

Alexandre Pantoja, the UFC Flyweight Champion, defends his belt for the fourth time when he faces Kai Kara-France at UFC 317.

The fight takes place on the Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira card. It is a rematch of their first clash, which took place on the 24th season of "The Ultimate Fighter." Pantoja took the victory via a unanimous decision. He enters the fight with a win against Kai Asakura at UFC 310. That was his fourth defense after having picked up the belt against Brandon Moreno. In comparison, Kara-France secured the title shot after stopping Steve Erceg in his last fight at UFC 305. The win ended his two-fight losing streak following losses to Brandon Moreno and Amir Albazi.

Pre-Fight

“He can knock you out with one punch. I need to pay attention to that. If I see him like Mike Tyson, maybe I need to be more like Muhammad Ali. I need movement. But if he tries to hit me, I have a very good chin. I’ve proved that many times. I don’t want to prove that a lot. I want to move my head more. That’s something I’ve really worked on.

"But I have strong hands, too, and that’s going to be an amazing opportunity to prove to everyone that I have strong hands. If you want to hit me, you need to know I’m going to hit you, too. I have strong hands. Maybe it’s going to be a good opportunity to knock someone out. Kai Kara-France is a good fighter. Very competitive, high-level fighter and is going to be a good challenge for me," Pantoja said

"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," Kara-France stated