Kai Kara-France after his win against Tyson Nam in 2020. Photo: photosport
Kai Kara-France is set to fight for flyweight gold.
The Auckland based fighter will meet champion Alexandre Pantoja for the UFC flyweight title on 29 June at UFC 317, which doubles as international fight week.
Kara-France (25-11-1), is 1-2 in his last three trips to the octagon, however his most recent appearance was an emphatic TKO of Australian contender Steve Erceg in August of last year.
The kiwi has fought for the interim title, losing by TKO to Brandon Moreno at UFC 277 in July 2022.
It won't be the first meeting between the pair, having squared off in a two round exhibition bout in 2016, Pantojo winning by unanimous decision.
Pantoja (29-5) will be looking for a fourth consecutive defence, having taken the title from Moreno before seeing off challenges from Brandon Royval, Erceg and Kai Asakura.
The event will be headlined by Charles Oliveira vs. Ilia Topuria for the vacant lightweight strap, after Islam Makhachev opted to make the move to welterweight.
