Kai Kara-France believes it's time for the UFC to return Down Under – and he's the man to do it.
The No 6-ranked flyweight contender goes into the biggest fight of his career this Sunday when he meets No 2-ranked Askar Askarov in Columbus, Ohio in what shapes upas a title eliminator.
Both fighters have claims to the title. Kara-France has a 6-2 record in the UFC and has won his last two bouts via first-round knockout, while Askarov is unbeaten in his 15-fight career, and after starting his UFC tenure with a draw, he has won three straight to sit among the top of the division.
With a win over Askarov, it would be hard to deny Kara-France the next shot at the UFC flyweight gold, and the 28-year-old said he had a vision for getting the promotion to make its return to New Zealand or Australia.
"How I see it happening: I'm going to knock out Askar Askarov then fight whoever is the title holder at the time. I'll bring that title fight to New Zealand or Australia. It's going to be a beauty," he said.
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"New Zealand and Australia is definitely blowing up. It's about time the UFC came back here. Now our borders are opening up and we can come back home without isolating, that's another step closer to bringing the UFC back to New Zealand. Hopefully it happens this year, but even if it doesn't happen and it goes to Australia, that would be just as good fighting over there.
"It's about time. People have missed it; people have missed live events and it's going to be crazy when there's a live event back here. It's all different when it's in your back yard."
Kai Kara-France during his win over Tyson Nam in the last UFC event held in New Zealand at Spark Arena in February 2020. Photo / Photosport
This weekend's event in Ohio was originally scheduled to be headlined by another title eliminator, between former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz and perennial contender Aleksandr Rakic. However, Blachowicz was injured, leaving the main event spot open.
While Kara-France's bout against Askarov seemed to hold enough interest and intrigue – not to mention talent – to be promoted to the main event spot, the UFC instead booked a heavyweight bout between Curtis Blaydes and Chris Daukaus to headline the show.
Kara-France thought his bout deserved the extra spotlight, but wasn't too surprised it wasn't given.
"People know what the real main event is on this card, and that's me and Askar's fight," Kara-France said.
"But the UFC play to their strengths. They know everyone is going to turn up for a heavyweight fight as the main event; that's just stock-standard."
Heading into the bout, Kara-France finds himself in the familiar position as the underdog. In a clash of styles, Kara-France is a better striker and has more power in his shots, while Askarov's best work is done with his wrestling – if he gets an opponent to the canvas, he can usually control them and make life difficult for the remainder of the round.
Kara-France said he welcomed the challenge of Askarov's wrestling pedigree, and worked alongside Kiwi Commonwealth Games wrestling hopeful Brahm Richards in preparation for the task.
"Bigger fights means more pressure, but I welcome it. I want to see the best out of Askar Askarov, I want to see him wrestle because I want to test myself."
