Kai Kara-France vs. Manel Kape added to upcoming UFC 293 card
An important flyweight bout between two top contenders, Kai Kara-France vs. Manel Kape, has been added to the upcoming UFC 293 card.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto confirmed with his sources that Kara-France vs. Kape is the latest addition to the UFC 293 card, which is set to take place on September 10 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.
Good one added to UFC Sydney in September. No. 5 flyweight Kai Kara-France vs. No. 9 Manel Kape verbally agreed to, per sources. Who you got here? pic.twitter.com/0mrWmw4vnV
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) June 20, 2023
Kara-France (24-11, 1 NC) is the No. 5 ranked flyweight in the UFC. The New Zealander is coming off of a razor-thin split decision loss to Amir Albazi in a fight that many fans and media thought he won. Prior to that, he lost via TKO to the current champion Brandon Moreno. Despite those losses, Kara-France is still considered one of the best fighters in his weight class, and if he can get past Kape, he will be right there when it comes to getting another 125lbs title shot.
Kape (18-6) is the No. 9 ranked flyweight and he has been red hot as of late, having won his last three fights over David Dvorak, Zhalgas Zhumagulov, and Ode’ Osbourne. Overall, he is one of the top young fighters in the weight class, and a win over Kara-France would help him enter the elite of the UFC flyweight division.
Aside from Kara-France vs. Kape, the only other fights currently booked for UFC 293 are a women’s flyweight matchup between Casey O’Neill and Viviane Araujo, and a light heavyweight bout between Carlos Ulberg and Da Woon Jung. It’s also expected that UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will defend his title on this card against the winner of the upcoming middleweight bout between Robert Whittaker and Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 290 in July. Overall, expect the card to be stacked with Australian and New Zealand fighters as the Octagon touches back down in Sydney.
Who do you think wins this flyweight bout at UFC 293 between Kai Kara-France and Manel Kape?
