LAS VEGAS – Kai Kara-France wants his next fight to be for gold.
The flyweight feels he did enough on Saturday night to earn the next shot at the UFC’s 125-pound title. Kara-France (23-9 MMA, 6-2 UFC) picked up a first-round TKO win over former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt (12-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) on the main card of UFC 269 at T-Mobile Arena. It was Garbrandt’s debut at 125 pounds.
“I think I made a statement tonight,” Kara-France told reporters, including MMA Junkie, following his win. “I took out a former champ. It’s a great story. Brandon Moreno vs. (Deiveson) Figueiredo, this will be the third time they’re fighting. I fought Brandon three years ago in 2019. It was a close fight. He’s done well since then and improved a lot, but so have I.
“I feel like the other flyweights that were ahead of me in the rankings, they’re not here tonight. I’m here. It was my show tonight, so I feel like I leaped-frogged them, and I’m next in line for the title shot.”
Kara-France is proud of his stoppage win over Garbrandt. He feels the former UFC champ was underestimating him and the skill level of the division.
“He thought he was going to take over the flyweight division, so I shut that off tonight,” Kara-France said. “I might’ve retired him. That’s just what we do at City Kickboxing: We fight the best in the world, and I know we have the best in the world. We proved that tonight. It was pretty special. I’m lucky to have all my teammates and I cant wait to see what the future holds.”
To see the full interview with Kara-France, check out the video above.
UFC 269 winner Kai Kara-France wants a shot at UFC flyweight title: ‘I’m next in line’