Kai Kara-France aims to take out Cody Garbrandt and rematch Brandon Moreno for flyweight title

LAS VEGAS – Kai Kara-France sees big implications with a win over Cody Garbrandt.

Kara-France (22-9 MMA, 5-2 UFC) welcomes former bantamweight champion Garbrandt (12-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) to the flyweight division on Saturday’s UFC 269 main card, and because of Garbrandt’s name and stature in the sport, Kara-France expects to emerge as the division’s No. 1 contender with a win.

“This is a title-fight eliminator in my eyes,” Kara-France told reporters, including MMA Junkie, during Wednesday’s media day at the UFC Apex. “I know they’ve given Cody a title shot before, he ended up catching COVID, so I’m in the same book.”

He continued, “I’ve got to prove my point, and I’ve got to make a statement. Such a stacked card, UFC 269 on the last pay-per-view for the year, I’ve got to stand out, so I’ve got to go out and take it. Like I said before, this is my title shot. So take out a former champ, there’s no denying me – 2022, a rematch against Brandon Moreno sounds good to me.”

Kara-France lost a close decision to current flyweight champion Brandon Moreno at UFC 245 in 2019 and would like nothing more than an opportunity to both avenge his loss to him and capture the title.

Moreno is scheduled to face Deiveson Figueiredo in a trilogy bout at UFC 270 on Jan. 22, and Kara-France sees him retaining his title.

“It was a close fight our first outing; I dropped him (Moreno) twice in the first round, and he did well to adapt and ended up edging a decision, but not looking past Cody at all,” Kara-France said. “That’s what I’ve been focusing on, but I’ll predict the future and I’ll say 2022, I’ll be fighting for that title.”

He continued, “He’s definitely improved a lot since we last fought, but so have I. I’ve tried to become more well-rounded rather than one-dimensional, and that’s just full credit to our gym City Kickboxing, our coach Eugene Bareman. He’s the glue that puts it all together, and I just trust the system and trust the process. … I knew eventually that me and Brandon will meet again, and it’s just going to be a whole lot different. I feel like he’s going t retain his title. He’s going to win the trilogy, but if any injuries happen, I’ll be happy to step in once I get past Cody.”

UFC 269 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card streams on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on ESPN+.

To se the full interview with Kara-France, check out the video above.