Kai Kara-France lands UFC Australia fight against Manel Kape

Kai Kara-France already has his next fight booked, just two weeks after losing a costly controversial split decision to Amir Albazi in the main event of UFC Vegas 74.

ESPN’s Brett Okamoto has just announced that Kara-France will fight Manel Kape at UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia, on Sept. 10, 2023. Kara-France is coming into the bout on a two-fight skid after losing to Brandon Moreno and the aforementioned Albazi. Kape, meanwhile, is on a three-fight win streak, and this will be his first fight of 2023 after two previous bookings fell through for the Flyweight fighter.

Many fans had Kara-France coasting into a 49-46 decision win in his last fight, only to be shocked when the judges scorecards read 48-47, 48-47 and 47-48 in favor of Albazi. “Don’t Blink” was clearly disappointed, but it was his teammates at City Kickboxing that really let it rip on the “robbery” they witnessed.

“They rob you of your moment,” Middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, said after the decision was read. “They rob you of not just of your money, but of your moment. Money comes and goes, but those moments, man. They rob you of your moment. What the f— is this, it wasn’t even close.”

Kara-France noted that the loss cost him a $100,000 win bonus and his spot in the rankings, but sounded ready to move forward.

“I’m just on to the next, and I’m trying not to be caught up in this, because it’s energy wasted for me,” Kara-France said. “I’m not trying to be a bad sport and say, ‘Why me?’ I’ve never done that in my career. I’ll just move forward, onto the next challenge.”

Fighting Kape in Australia sounds like a pretty good challenge ... and we’re here for it!

There’s not too many fights booked for UFC’s Sydney pay-per-view (PPV) thus far. It’s expected that Adesanya will defend his title on the card. Fellow City Kickboxing teammate, Carlos Ulberg, will fight Jung Da-un in a Light Heavyweight showdown. And Australia’s “King” Casey O’Neill will take on Viviane Araujo at women’s Flyweight.