Kai Kara-France has responded after being name-dropped by newly crowned UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo.
Figueiredo (21-2-1 MMA) reclaimed the promotions 125lbs title in the co-headliner of last night’s UFC 270 event, scoring a thrilling unanimous decision victory over Brandon Moreno (19-6-2 MMA).
The contest marked the third straight meeting between Figueiredo and Moreno, and now ‘Figgy’ is ready to move on. Speaking at the UFC 270 post-fight press conference, ‘Daico’ expressed his interest in fighting streaking Kiwi – ‘Don’t Blink’ his next time out.
“Kai Kara-France, obviously,” said Figueiredo. “I want to knock him out, and he knocked out Cody Garbrandt (see that here). So that’s the guy I wanted to knock out. It’s not in my interest to fight Cody any more, it’s Kai Kara-France.”
It did not take long for Deiveson’s words of war to find there way over to Kai. The New Zealander responded on Twitter with the following:
https://twitter.com/kaikarafrance/status/1485162474819452929
“The Champ has spoken. Let’s get it going. Anytime, anywhere I’m ready! @Daico_Deiveson ⚔️ #teamdontblink🇳🇿“
Kai Kara-France (23-9 MMA) most recently competed at last month’s UFC 269 event where he scored a nasty first round knockout over former bantamweight title holder Cody Garbrandt.
That win marked Kai’s second finish in a row and third victory in his past five fights overall.
“Just a Maori boy from Aotearoa, New Zealand! Stand up NZ!!!!! It’s my time! #meanmaori #teamdontblink #ufc269″ – The Kiwi shared following his win over Garbrandt.
Whether or not the UFC will grant Deiveson Figueiredo his wish of fighting Kai Kara-France next remains to be seen. For his part, Brandon Moreno would like a fourth fight.