Can Kai Kara-France Dethrone the Dominant Champion?
Kai Kara-France has been one if not the hardest-hitting Flyweights of all time. The one-punch power he can generate is unheard of for his weight class. After an impressive upset KO victory over Steve Erceg in round one last year, he has put himself in position for his long-awaited title shot. He will be challenging Alexandre Pantoja, who has looked like one of the most dominant champions in recent memory. He has successfully defended his Flyweight Championship three times and is looking to continue his run through the division. Can the Kiwi shock the world and bring the title to the land down under, or will the unbreakable champion be too much for him to handle?
Kai Kara-France has relied primarily on his overhand right to put his opponents away in the past. However, in his last fight, he was able to land a picture-perfect left hook that dropped Erceg and was able to give him the upper hand to seek out the finish. A knock on France throughout his career is that he has a heavy boxing stance but doesn’t throw many combinations or feints to set up his incredible power. If he has any chance of victory in this fight, he is going to have to throw multiple combinations because Pantoja has a chin. Pantoja is hard to knock down and has never been knocked out in his career. ‘Don’t Blink’ showed in his matchups with Askar Askarov and Amir Albazi that he has exceptional takedown defense. If he can keep this fight on the feet and away from the champion's grappling, he will give himself the best chance to clip him when he rushes in to get in range. If he relies heavily on his counter-strike ability and sits down early in the fight, I can see him potentially getting the knockout victory.
Alexandre Pantoja has almost lapped the entire Flyweight Division in his career. With an incredible 29-5 record, he is putting himself in the conversation as the greatest Flyweight Champion of all time. His ability to march forward and be unfazed by whatever his opponent throws out at him makes him a suffocating presence. He has underrated power, but he uses his striking primarily to set up his takedowns because on the ground, he is one of the best. His Jujitsu is top tier, and once he gets you to the ground, it is almost impossible for you to get back up. Whatever angle or leverage you think you're gaining, his ability to scramble and reverse position makes it a grueling style for any opponent. If he can circle away from Kai’s power and his overhand right early in the fight, I think his ability to wear on him for five rounds will weaken any chance he has at knocking him out. Once the fight gets to the ground, he will be able to get ahead on the scorecards and potentially look for another submission victory. This will be the biggest test for his chin, so blitzing in like he usually does could cost him if he’s not careful, but he has an extremely high fight IQ. I believe he is aware of that and will change up his game plan accordingly.
When Kai Kara-France is fighting, it’s normally an exciting fight, as is almost all the fights in the Flyweight Division. Both fighters are going to push a ridiculous pace, and the cross-matching is going to be fun to watch. Early on, the advantage is going to be with the challenger, and as the fight progresses, the momentum will switch to the champion. Whichever way this fight goes, you don’t want to miss all the action this Saturday, June 28th, for UFC 317 Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira with a main card start time of 10:00 p.m. ET.
