Alexandre Pantoja recognizes that Kai Kara-France is not the same fighter he met nearly a decade ago.
In 2009, ‘The Cannibal’ scored a unanimous decision win over Kara-France in a quarterfinal match on TUF 24. Today, Pantoja has a stranglehold on the flyweight division, securing big wins over Brandon Moreno, Brandon Royval, Steve Erceg, and Kai Asakura in his last four outings.
But while Pantoja has been holding things down as the undisputed 125-pound king, Kara-France has been slowly making his way up the rankings, desperately seeking an opportunity at both redemption and UFC gold.
‘Don’t Blink’ will finally get that chance this Saturday night when the promotion heads back to Las Vegas for a loaded UFC 317 card. In the co-main event of the evening, Pantoja will put his flyweight title on the line against Kara-France.
Kara-France will be fighting for more than himself at UFC 317
Speaking on their highly anticipated clash during Wednesday’s UFC 317 media day, Pantoja knows he’s stepping inside the Octagon with a much more dangerous athlete than the 23-year-old kid he met all those years ago on The Ultimate Fighter.
“After I fought Asakura, he sent me a message on Instagram and said, ‘I’m the next.’ I said, ‘I hope so, brother.’ Kara-France is a real good guy, super humble,” Pantoja said. “He looks more dangerous now because he has a family. When I fought him the first time, he didn’t have a family. Now he has kids, he has a family, and that makes him more dangerous.
“I know that because I have my family to fight for, to feed. That’s good advice for myself. When the Octagon is locked, Kai Kara-France doesn’t fight just for himself anymore—he fights for his family.”
While Pantoja may be well aware of how motivated Kara-France is, the oddsmakers certainly don’t seem to agree. As it stands, ‘The Cannibal’ is a -240 favorite to retain his title, while the New Zealander is a -200 underdog.
