UFC 317 'Embedded,' No. 3: Kai Kara-France gets a haka sendoff to Las Vegas
The UFC is back in its "Sin City" home base for International Fight Week and UFC 317, its seventh pay-per-view of the calendar year, and the popular "Embedded" fight week video series is here to document what's happening behind the scenes.
UFC 317 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
In the headliner, the vacant 155-pound title is on the line between former featherweight champion Ilia Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) and ex-lightweight titleholder Charles Oliveira (35-10 MMA, 23-10 UFC). Topuria vacated the 145-pound belt to move to lightweight for a shot at a title in a second division. The co-feature is a flyweight title fight between champion Alexandre Pantoja (29-5 MMA, 13-3 UFC) and challenger Kai Kara-France (25-11 MMA, 8-4 UFC).
The third episode of "Embedded" follows the featured fighters while they get ready for fight week. Here is the UFC's description of the episode from YouTube:
Kai Kara-France gets a sendoff fit for a Maori warrior; Charles Oliveira goes grocery shopping; Ilia Topuria rides a bike in a tent; Champ Alexandre Pantoja arrives in Las Vegas; Gregory Rodrigues reflects on why he fights; Jack Hermansson trains in the UFC PI; Beneil Dariush takes a stroll to T-Mobile Arena; Renato Moicano trains with Alexandre Pantoja.
Previous episodes of UFC 317 embedded
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"You can't talk about that. So this is why. "The same situation [happened to us], we were living in Georgia in 2008," Topuria added. "The same situation. I was living there, and a lot of guys from my class, my friends, I saw all of them out there, their parents were dying in the war, and crazy situations — I can't even explain how the situation was at that time. [It bothers me] when I hear someone joking about that." Topuria and Pimblett fought on that London card with Topuria knocking out Jai Herbert in the first round of their lightweight bout. Meanwhile, Pimblett defeated Kazula Vargas via submission. Both men earned "Performance of the Night" bonuses for their wins. The Topuria Vs. Pimblett Beef Continues LAS VEGAS, NV - DECEMBER 8: Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett held back by security during a shouting ... More match at the UFC 282 pre-fight press conference on December 8, 2022, at the MGM Garden Grand Arena in Las Vegas, NV. (Photo by Amy Kaplan/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Topuria and Pimblett reignited their feud in December 2022 when they shared a stage for the UFC 282 press conference. During that press conference, Pimblett said to Topuria, 'Are you talking English? English? Speak English for the people, lad, not German or Spanish like you're from, you mongrel. You pretend to be Georgian, but you're not. You were born in Germany, and you live in Spain. You were born in Germany, and you live in Spain. You're a little mongrel. That's what you are. You're a little mongrel.' Those words did not sit well with Topuria, as he stood and threatened Pimblett during the event before things seemed to cool down, at least at the time. Both men fought on the PPV card on that event, with Topuria opening the main card with a submission win over Bryce Mitchell. Meanwhile, Pimblett defeated Jared Gordon via decision in the co-main event that night. Topuria earned a "Performance of the Night" bonus for his stoppage. We will have more on Topuria vs. Pimblett as news becomes available.
