A flyweight clash is expected to take place at the UFC’s return to Sydney, Australia in September.
Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that a matchup between Kai Kara-France and Manel Kape is being targeted for UFC 293. Verbal agreements are in place with contracts expected to be sent out soon. The UFC’s broadcasting partner ESPN was first to reveal the booking.
Kara-France will look to bounce back from his first two-fight losing streak since joining the UFC roster. After winning three straight bouts between March 2021 and March 2022, “Don’t Blink” earned an interim flyweight title fight against Brandon Moreno at UFC 277 this past July and was stopped in the third round. The fifth-ranked flyweight in MMA Fighting’s Global Rankings recently competed in the main event of UFC Vegas 74 earlier this month where he dropped a heavily debated split decision to Amir Albazi.
Kape, a former RIZIN champion, enters his highest profile UFC matchup on a three-fight win streak, and a bit of bad luck as well. Since his December win over David Dvorak, Kape was booked to face one-time title challenger Alex Perez at March’s UFC San Antonio event before Perez was forced to withdraw just hours before the bout was set to take place. The 29-year-old was also slated to face Deiveson Figueiredo in July at UFC 290 before the multiple-time flyweight champion was scratched from the contest due to injury.
UFC 293 does not have an official main event announced just yet, but it is expected to feature middleweight champion Israel Adesanya who, according to Dana White, will face the winner of the UFC 290 matchup between Robert Whittaker and Dricus Du Plessis.