This past Saturday in the main event of UFC Vegas 74, we saw a big time matchup in the flyweight division. Former title challenger Kai Kara-France (24-11) was back as he was taking on surging top contender Amir Albazi (17-1) who was looking to remain unbeaten inside the octagon.
This was the first time we’ve seen Kara-France since last year when he lost an interim title fight against Brandon Moreno. In that fight, Kara-France was looking great until he ate a massive body kick that ended his night and crowned Moreno the interim flyweight champion.
He was supposed to fight earlier this year in Australia, but a hand injury forced him out. He was itching to return and he took on the tough challenge of Amir Albazi. Both men had moments in the opening round at UFC Vegas 74, but the majority of people including myself believe that round went to Kara-France.
The second round was dominated by Albazi’s grappling. The third round was another close round where a lot of people were torn on the scoring. However, the final two rounds were clear rounds for Kara-France in my opinion. With two clear rounds for him and two close rounds, it’s hard to see where he loses the fight.
However, two of the judges gave the fight and the split decision win to Amir Albazi.
What’s next after UFC Vegas 74?
This is a really tough one for Kai Kara-France. Had the judges got this one right, he would’ve been one win away from another crack at the flyweight title. However, now he’s lost back-to-back fights and he’s looking at a situation where he’ll need a couple of wins to get back into title contention.
So, what should the UFC do with Kara-France coming off this razor close loss? Honestly, I think there’s an opponent that lines up perfectly for him. Matheus Nicolau lost to Brandon Royval at UFC Kansas City in a title eliminator. That loss snapped a lengthy winning streak for Nicolau.
Nicolau is still in the top five and I think lines up perfectly for Kara-France. These two should fight and then the winner is right back in the title picture.
More must-reads: