Report | Brandon Moreno vs. Kai Kara-France 2 Booked For Interim Title Fight At UFC 277
An interim flyweight championship rematch between former undisputed division champion, Brandon Moreno, and the surging contender, Kai Kara-France has been booked to feature at UFC 277 on July 30. At the time of publication, an official location or venue for the event has yet to be determined by the organization.
Brandon Moreno holds a prior unanimous judging win over Kai Kara-France
Initially meeting at UFC 245 in December 2019, former flyweight champion, Brandon Moreno handed City Kickboxing standout, Kai Kara-France a unanimous decision defeat in an early preliminary card showdown.
In his most recent outing, Tijuana native, Moreno was defeated by current champion, Deiveson Figueiredo in the co-main event of UFC 270 in January, dropping his undisputed championship in a third fight between the two.
Turning in his third straight victory back in March, Kara-France scooped the #2 rank at 125lbs with a unanimous decision title-eliminator win over Askar Askarov at UFC Columbus over the course of three rounds. Per Ariel Helwani, the aforenoted Figueiredo is still recovering from an injury to his finger, resulting in the introduction of an interim title fight between Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France.
19-6-2 as a professional, Moreno who has achieved gold during his second tenure with the organization, managed to successfully clinch the undisputed crown in the co-main event of UFC 263 back in June of last year – defeating Figueiredo with a third round rear-naked choke.
The pair initially met in the headliner of UFC 256 in December of 2020, with Figueiredo retaining his championship after the bout was judging a majority draw following a point deduction against the Brazilian due to an illegal groin strike.
Before his draw with Figueiredo, Moreno had embarked on his winning run with his judging success against Kara-France, as well as lodging other victories against Jussier Formiga, and a finish against recent UFC 274 winner, Brandon Royval.
24-9(1) as a professional, before his win over common-foe, Askarov earlier this year, Kara-France stopped former undisputed bantamweight champion, Cody Garbrandt, in the latter’s flyweight bow – adding to another knockout success against Rogerio Bontorin.
