Former UFC interim flyweight title challenger Kai Kara-France will return to the Octagon in Perth, AU at UFC 284 on February 11th.
Kara-France will face former title challenger Alex Perez in a three-round high-stakes matchup. The winner will hold their spot in the flyweight title picture and move potentially one win away from a shot at the belt.
MMA Junkie was the first to report the news of the Kara-France/Perez matchup.
Kara-France returns after losing to Brandon Moreno for the interim title at UFC 277 earlier this year. Before the loss to Moreno, he won three straight over the likes of Cody Garbrandt and Askar Askarov.
On the same card as Kara-France/Moreno, Perez lost to Alexandre Pantoja via first-round submission. It was his first fight back in the Octagon following a nearly two-year hiatus.
Kai Kara-France Looks to Bounce Back Against Alex Perez
Before the loss to Pantoja, Perez lost to Deiveson Figueiredo for the flyweight title at UFC 255. Before the main event loss, he earned wins over Jordan Espinosa and Jussier Formiga.
Kara-France’s booking comes shortly after undefeated flyweight contender Muhammad Mokaev called him out on social media. Just hours later and Kara-France has his next Octagon assignment against Perez, leaving Mokaev empty-handed.
The winner of Kara-France/Perez could set themselves up to arguably earn the next shot at the belt against the Figueiredo/Moreno 4 winner. Figueiredo and Moreno will unify the flyweight title at UFC 283 in Brazil.
UFC 284 is headlined by a lightweight title super fight between Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski. The card also features the return of former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker against Paulo Costa.
What do you think of Kai Kara-France vs. Alex Perez?