Kai Kara-France vs. Amir Albazi shifts to UFC Fight Night on June 3 headliner

The UFC’s June 3 Fight Night event has a new headliner.

The card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas originally was to be headlined by a middleweight bout between Brendan Allen and Jack Hermansson, but Hermansson withdrew due to injury.

Now flyweights Kai Kara-France (24-10 MMA, 7-3 UFC) and Amir Albazi (16-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) have been promoted to top billing. The pair will throw down for five rounds, Kara-France revealed on the “Who the Fook Are These Guys?” podcast.

MMA Junkie subsequently verified the matchup with a person close to the booking. The person requested anonymity because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Main event, Vegas June 3rd! https://t.co/uMQuJEkpQi

— Kai Kara France (@kaikarafrance) May 1, 2023

Kara-France will look to rebound after he failed to capture the interim title against Brandon Moreno in a TKO loss at UFC 277 in July 2022. Prior to that, the City Kickboxing fighter won three straight – including a knockout of former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt.

Albazi is coming off a second-round knockout of Alessandro Costa at UFC Fight Night 216 in December. The 29-year-old has won his first four octagon bouts, including three by finish.

The June 3 UFC Fight Night lineup includes:

• Amir Albazi vs. Kai Kara-France
• Mayra Bueno Silva vs. Miesha Tate
• Ludovit Klein vs. Jim Miller
• Alex Caceres vs. Daniel Pineda
• Victor Altamirano vs. Tim Elliott
• Jinh Yu Frey vs. Elise Reed
• Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Luan Lacerda
• John Castaneda vs. Mateus Mendonca
• Maxim Grishin vs. Philipe Lins
• Abubakar Nurmagomedov vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos