Kai Kara-France has some big plans for his next few fights at flyweight. The plan starts off by taking on Cody Garbrandt at UFC 269 on Saturday.
He believes the fight has much higher stakes than simply a fan matchup. Kai Kara-France is confident the flyweight fight at UFC 269 is a title eliminator.
“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.”
Should things go his way at UFC 269, Kai Kara-France expects to rematch the champion, Brandon Moreno, for the title. The first fight was a close affair and a very exciting contest.
“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.”
Kai Kara-France takes on Cody Garbrandt at UFC 269 on Saturday. The bout is a very exciting one and could serve as a title eliminator.