Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Kara-France flyweight title fight booked for UFC 317
The next UFC flyweight championship fight is set.
On June 28 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Alexandre Pantoja will look to defend his title against challenger Kai Kara-France at UFC 317.
UFC CEO Dana White announced the news Tuesday on Instagram as part of a series of fight announcements.
This will be the second time Pantoja (29-5 MMA, 13-3 UFC) and Kara-France (25-11 MMA, 8-4 UFC) share the cage, although everything about this fight is completely different. The pair fought on Season 24 of "The Ultimate Fighter" in a two-round exhibition that Pantoja won by unanimous decision. This time, it's a five-round bout for UFC gold on a major pay-per-view.
Pantoja, 34, will look to record his fourth flyweight title defense. After claiming the belt by winning a split decision over Brandon Moreno at UFC 290, Pantoja has defended against Brandon Royval, Steve Erceg and Kai Asakura.
For Kara-France, 31, this will be his second opportunity to fight for UFC gold. At UFC 277, he challenged Moreno for the vacant interim title but was finished in the third round. Kara-France then came up short in a thin split decision against Amir Albazi, but he rebounded with a statement first-round finish of Erceg at UFC 305.
The latest UFC 317 lineup includes:
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