Kai Kara-France likes the idea of facing Steve Erceg next.
Erceg is fresh off a close title loss to flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja this past Saturday at UFC 301 in Rio. Kara-France hasn’t competed since suffering a close loss himself to Amir Albazi last June. He was scheduled to face Manel Kape at UFC 293, but withdrew due to concussion symptoms.
Kara-France (24-11 MMA, 7-4 UFC) initially targeted a rematch with Albazi (17-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC), who’s currently recovering from injury. He doesn’t think Albazi should be in the title conversation after edging him out in a fight he thought he won.
“I’ve seen Amir talking a lot about this title fight that just happened in the weekend saying it was boring. The champ’s telling people to stay in their seats while I’m doing my post-fight speech,” Kara-France told Sky Sports New Zealand.
“Then I messaged Amir on one of his posts saying, ‘Sweet, bro. You beat me once, so if you’re that confident, let’s run it back in Perth.’ But no reply, either, so I guess I don’t have an opponent there.”
With UFC 305 taking place Aug. 17 at RAC Arena in Perth, Erceg (12-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) is interested in fighting in his hometown. Kara-France is happy to oblige.
“If not, I feel like Steve would be a great dance partner – somewhere close to home,” Kara-France said. “He’s from Perth, so I know the hometown boy will get a lot of hype. Fans want to see him fight. He held his own against the champion and arguably won that fight. A few decisions, if he did differently, he probably would have had it in the bag.
“He showed a lot of skills that I was impressed. I even messaged him and said, ‘You should be proud of that performance.’ So there’s no animosity when it comes to Anzacs or guys from this side of the world. It’s just you’ve got to give props where it’s due. … To get to the title, you want to fight the guys that fought for the title. That’s the pathway. If he wants to get it, Steve Erceg: Let’s settle it in Perth.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 305.
