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NZ Herald
an hour ago
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Kara-France v Pantoja: Live updates from UFC 317 in Las Vegas
Follow the action as Kai Kara-France looks to become the UFC flyweight champion at UFC 317 in Las Vegas. Preview of Kai Kara-France v Alexandre Pantoja A lot can change in nine years. In 2016, then-23-year-old UFC flyweight hopeful Kai Kara-France was eliminated from the promotion's scouting programme The Ultimate Fighter by Brazilian Alexandre Pantoja. An exhibition bout, the pair fought over two competitive five-minute rounds, with Pantoja getting the nod from the judges. On Sunday, the pair will meet in the octagon again – with the biggest prize in the sport on the line as Kara-France sets out to relieve Pantoja of the UFC flyweight championship at UFC 317 in Las Vegas. The bout is the co-main event of the pay-per-view card, which headlines the UFC's annual International Fight Week. As the company takes the opportunity to celebrate mixed martial arts this week, including holding its Hall of Fame ceremony, the card at the end of it is usually stacked with big fights that fans want to see happen. That is the case with Kara-France and Pantoja. Their 2016 meeting was an exhibition bout and does not appear on their professional record, hence it not being referred to as Pantoja v Kara-France II in UFC promotional material. Reflecting on that bout, Kara-France said there was little he could take away from it. 'I had to cut weight every week for that fight. I'm not taking away anything from Pantoja, but I felt drained already before that fight even started so I didn't showcase my skill. 'I was performing at probably 50%, just making flyweight every week. And, bro, I was so young. 'Now I'm 32. There's a lot that's changed and I've just got more to fight for. I've got more purpose; just different stages of my life where [my] priorities are a lot different. I've got a family to feed and a family to provide for. I've got a legacy to cement and follow suit of my teammates Izzy [Adesanya] and Alex [Volkanovski] who both won titles. I've got a belt to win myself and that's the plan.' The fact that Kara-France has more to fight for now than he did back then has not been lost on Pantoja either. The reigning UFC champion, who is on a seven-fight winning streak going back to February 2021 noted as much when addressing this weekend's bout. 'Kai Kara-France is a real good guy, he's super humble, and I said to him he looks more dangerous now that he has a family,' Pantoja said. 'When I fought him the first time, he didn't have a family yet, he didn't have kids. Now, he has a family and that makes him more dangerous. I know that because I have my family to fight [for], I have my family to feed. 'I know when the octagon is locked, Kai Kara-France doesn't fight just for himself anymore. He fights for his family.'
New York Post
14 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Post
UFC 317 predictions: Full fight card picks for prelims and main card
Gambling content 21+. The New York Post may receive an affiliate commission if you sign up through our links. Read our editorial standards for more information. International fight week at UFC 317 should bring the fireworks to Las Vegas. The 12-fight card features two title fights, and just four of the 12 fights are projected to end inside the distance. An insane expectation of violence on Saturday night begins at 6:30 p.m. Eastern with the entire prelim card being broadcast on ESPN before switching over to pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET. We had a solid run last week, following some lackluster performances from a betting perspective over the past few weeks. The 6-5 record would point to an average day, but nailing a +290 wager on top of two other plus-money wins helped us profit 1.72 units and a 15.64 percent ROI. UFC 317 predictions Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira Charles Oliveira has always been heavy on the forward pressure; it's a major piece of his game. But he'll need to be extremely careful coming in against a boxer like Ilita Topuria. Topuria is one of the best knockout artists in featherweight history and now moves up to 155 lbs to compete for the lightweight title. Olivieira, 36, has fought 34 times in the UFC and has taken tons of damage. We've seen previously that he hates getting hit, going back years to when he tapped out due to strikes from Paul Felder in 2017. By all accounts, Topuria hits harder than anyone Oliveira has ever fought. Typically, as you get older, you don't want to get hit harder than you have ever been hit before. Topuria is an excellent grappler himself, and I suspect that he isn't as big of a liability on the ground as many would think. He did win the title in 2021 and defended against strikers and won by submission multiple times, but Saturday's not his night. Topuria is the biggest star in the UFC, and I suspect he wins by knockout. PICK: Topuria by KO/TKO (-150, BetRivers) UFC fighter Charles Oliveira in action at UFC 309. AP Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Kara-France If you were to judge this fight purely based on MMA math, you could argue that Kai Kara-France has an excellent chance to snag a win here as an underdog, considering he defeated Askar Askarov while Alexandre Pantoja has a loss against him. ' My issue with backing Kara-France as a +220 underdog is that he has four losses in his last nine fights. Plain and simple, he fights on too thin of margins to get consistent wins, and has had some funky decisions in the past. Those losses were against some of the best fighters in the division, but his loss to Brandon Royval by submission is concerning on multiple levels. Pantoja is an excellent wrestler for his size, and his striking isn't bad either, but if he can't get takedowns, he'll have problems. Flyweight is a high variance division, and these two have fought before on The Ultimate Fighter, with Pantoja winning by decision. I suspect that Pantoja gets the job done on Saturday, but the line has no value at the price and especially the division they fight in. Back this one to go the distance with a long shot bet on Kara-France by decision at +500, considering that's his most likely win condition, even though I don't love the fighter personally. PICK: Fight goes the distance (+104, Fanatics Sportsbook) | Kara France by decision (+500, FanDuel) Joshua Van celebrates a win at UFC 316. AP UFC 317 full card picks Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira: Topuria by KO/TKO -150, BetRivers) Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Kara-France: Fight goes the distance (+104, Fanatics Sportsbook) | Kara France by decision (+500, FanDuel) Brandon Royval vs. Joshua Van: Royval by submission (+900, Bet365) Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano: Dariush ML (+136, DraftKings) Payton Talbott vs. Felipe Lima: Lima inside the distance (+400, Fanduel) Jack Hermansson vs. Gregory Rodrigues: Fight goes to decision (-112, FanDuel) Hyder Amil vs. Jose Delgado: Over 1.5 rounds (-159, BetRivers) | Fight goes the distance (+160, Fanatics Sportsbook) Viviane Araujo vs. Tracy Cortez: Pass Terrance McKinney vs. Viacheslav Borshchev: Fight starts round 2 (+104, FanDuel) | Fight goes the distance (+500, DraftKings) Niko Price vs. Jacobe Smith: Small bet (no more than .2 units) on Price ML (+1200, FanDuel) Jhonata Diniz vs. Alvin Hines: Fight goes to decision (+300, Bet365) Chris Ewert vs. Jackson McVey: Pass Why Trust New York Post Betting Erich Richter is a brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt but he has a black belt in MMA betting. During the football season he's showcased massive profits at The Post in the player prop market the last two seasons. While constantly betting long shots, his return on investment is 30.15 percent since 2022.
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
UFC 317 video: Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Kara-France intense at final faceoff
LAS VEGAS – Alexandre Pantoja and Kai Kara-France had a final staredown at UFC 317 ceremonial weigh-ins ahead of Saturday's flyweight title showdown. Pantoja (29-5 MMA, 13-3 UFC) will put his 125-pound belt on the line once again in hopes of a fourth consecutive define when he takes on Kara-France (25-11 MMA, 8-4 UFC) in the co-main event of the International Fight Week card at T-Mobile Arena (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+). The previous encounter between the pair came in an exhibition bout on "The Ultimate Fighter" reality series in 2016, with Pantoja claiming a unanimous decision. The circumstances this time are far different, however, and each appears keen to take home the gold. A post shared by MMA Junkie (@mmajunkie) Check out the video above to see the Pantoja vs. Kara-France faceoff from UFC 317 ceremonial weigh-ins.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Henry Cejudo urges Alexandre Pantoja to make bantamweight move with UFC 317 win
Henry Cejudo sees nothing left at flyweight for Alexandre Pantoja if he gets his hand raised at UFC 317. UFC flyweight champion Pantoja (29-5 MMA, 13-3 UFC) will look to notch his fourth title defense when he takes on Kai Kara-France (25-11 MMA, 8-4 UFC) in Saturday's co-main event (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. A former UFC dual-champion, Cejudo thinks Pantoja should move up to bantamweight to challenge Merab Dvalishvili if he gets past Kara-France – even though the Brazilian dismissed the move. Cejudo is not ruling out Pantoja's chances against "The Machine." "With a victory for Pantoja, and he does put Kai Kara-France out, he's got to move up," Cejudo said on his "Pound 4 Pound" podcast with Kamaru Usman. "I know he recently did an interview about him not going up – man, he's lapped the division. He could surprise. I know Pantoja very, very well. "He could surprise Merab with his back take, with takedowns, too. Pantoja is super underrated with a lot of this stuff. You can't say he doesn't have a shot. I just feel like Pantoja has to give himself that opportunity to go up because he's lapping that division, and we've got to see if he can make history." Cejudo coached both Pantoja and Kara-France on Season 24 of "The Ultimate Fighter." He points to Pantoja's experience and activity as the main factor in this fight. "Kai Kara-France, he's only beat Steve Erceg and other than that, he hasn't really been that active," Pantoja said. "That's his only win in the last three years, but it was an impressive win. It was a great overhand. But other than that, it's all been Pantoja. Pantoja has been super active. He has really resurrected the flyweight division, and I feel like Pantoja is just too much for KKF."
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
Topuria vs Oliviera LIVE Streaming info: Preview, full fight card, when and where to watch UFC 317?
PREVIEW Former featherweight champion Ilia Topuria will enter the octagon for potentially the biggest fight of his career on Sunday, when he faces former lightweight titleholder Charles Oliveira for the vacant UFC lightweight championship. Topuria (16-0) moves up to the 155-pound weight class for UFC 317 following a successful 2024 at featherweight. He claimed that belt with a second-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski and defended his title by finishing Max Holloway in the third round of their October bout in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The 28-year-old dual citizen of Georgia and Spain, ranked fourth on UFC's pound-for-pound list, now moves up a division hungry to win another belt and join nine others who have held a UFC belt in two weight classes. Topuria has registered eight wins by submission, including six by knockout, and has nine first-round finishes to his credit. ALSO READ | Jon Jones retires, Tom Aspinall elevated to undisputed heavyweight champion Oliveira (35-10) will also be searching for history, as he looks to become the first fighter to win the lightweight belt on separate occasions. Oliveira, who has the most finishes in UFC history, has scored 21 victories by submission, including 10 via knockout. In the co-main event, flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja (29-5) and Kai Kara-France (25-11) will meet for a second time, nine years after their quarterfinal clash on the reality show 'The Ultimate Fighter.' Pantoja won the first meeting by unanimous decision. -AP UFC 317: Full fight card Main Event: Ilia Topuria vs Charles Oliveira Co-Main Event: Alexandre Pantoja vs Kai Kara-France Other main card fights: • Beneil Dariush vs Renato Moicano • Brandon Royval vs Joshua Van • Payton Talbott vs Felipe Lima Prelim Matches: • Jack Hermansson vs Gregory Rodrigues • Hyder Amil vs Jose Delgado • Viviane Araujo vs Tracy Cortez • Terrance McKinney vs Viacheslav Borshchev • Jhonata Diniz vs Alvin Hines • Niko Price vs Jacobe Smith • Christopher Ewert vs Jackson McVey Streaming information The UFC 317, headlined by the lightweight title bout between Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliviera will be streamed live on the SonyLIV app/website. The event will also be broadcast across the Sony Sports Network. The main card is scheduled to start at 7:30AM IST on June 29, Sunday.
