In the co-main event of UFC 317, the flyweight title is on the line. Champion Alexandre Pantoja (29-5) will look to keep his incredibly impressive streak going and defend his title for the fourth time as he takes on top contender and knockout artist Kai Kara-France (25-11).
These two actually fought on The Ultimate Fighter way back in 2016 with Kara-France falling short to Pantoja by decision. Now, they meet again for the flyweight title. Kara-France earns this shot after starching Steve Erceg in the first round last August. That huge win came on the heels of two losses for KKF. However, one of those losses was a controversial split decision loss. Prior to those two, he had three straight wins including two knockouts.
Now, he’s tasked with taking on one of the best in the world. Alexandre Pantoja has been on another level over the past few years. Starting in 2021, Pantoja won three fights in a row including finishes over Brandon Royval and Alex Perez. Those three wins earned him a title fight with Brandon Moreno.
Pantoja dethroned Moreno to become the UFC flyweight champion. Since becoming champion, Pantoja has defended against Brandon Royval, Steve Erceg, and Kai Asakura. He seems to get better and better with each title defense and I’m expecting that tomorrow night as well.
UFC 317 Prediction
Kai Kara-France is a very unique fighter. In the flyweight division, you don’t see many true knockout artists but that is exactly who KKF is. He is incredibly explosive and he carries a massive punch. However, I don’t know if he can wrestle the title away from Alexandre Pantoja on power alone.
I think Pantoja will be able to take the shots that KKF is throwing at him tomorrow night. With him being able to absorb the power, it comes down to their overall games and how these two will fight over five rounds. I expect this to be a very close and competitive fight. However, I really like Pantoja to retain his title at UFC 317.
I think from a technical perspective, he can hang on the feet with KKF. While being able to strike with Kara-France, he’s also a much better grappler with tremendous takedowns and top control. I believe that his ability to mix up his attacks will allow him to win at least three rounds and he’ll walk away with a unanimous decision at UFC 317.
Prediction: Alexandre Pantoja by Decision