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UFC 317 adds Alexandre Pantoja – Kai Kara-France for the flyweight title

Originally posted on Empire Sports Media
By Daniel Cunningham | Last updated May 13, 2025 6:32 PM ET

Dana White took to social media tonight and he announced the main event and co-main event for UFC 317 on June 28th. In the main event, the vacant lightweight title is on the line when Ilia Topuria takes on Charles Oliveira. In the co-main event, flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja (29-5) takes on Kai Kara-France (25-11).

TWO title fights headline IFW ?@TopuriaIlia vs @CharlesDoBronxs World Lightweight Title?@PantojaMMA vs @KaiKaraFrance World Flyweight Title ?#UFC317 | Tickets on sale Friday pic.twitter.com/j3B20BOdGR
— UFC (@ufc) May 13, 2025

Kai Kara-France earns this shot against Pantoja on the heels of his incredible knockout over former title challenger Steve Erceg last August which earned him a performance of the night. Kara-France is arguably the biggest puncher at 125 and he’s 4-2 in his last six fights which includes three first round finishes.

Back in 2020, Alexandre Pantoja lost a decision to Askar Askarov which dropped him to 4-3 in a seven fight stretch. However, since then, he’s been perfect. Pantoja won three fights in a row including two finishes to earn a title shot against Brandon Moreno. He won the UFC flyweight title from Moreno and has now defended his title successfully three times. He’ll be going for his fourth title defense on June 28th.

This article first appeared on Empire Sports Media and was syndicated with permission.

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