The UFC’s June 3 Fight Night event has a new headliner.
The card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas originally was to be headlined by a middleweight bout between Brendan Allen and Jack Hermansson, but Hermansson withdrew due to injury.
Now flyweights Kai Kara-France (24-10 MMA, 7-3 UFC) and Amir Albazi (16-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) have been promoted to top billing. The pair will throw down for five rounds, Kara-France revealed on the “Who the Fook Are These Guys?” podcast.
MMA Junkie subsequently verified the matchup with a person close to the booking. The person requested anonymity because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Main event, Vegas June 3rd! 👊🏻 https://t.co/uMQuJEkpQi
— Kai Kara France (@kaikarafrance) May 1, 2023
Kara-France will look to rebound after he failed to capture the interim title against Brandon Moreno in a TKO loss at UFC 277 in July 2022. Prior to that, the City Kickboxing fighter won three straight – including a knockout of former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt.
Albazi is coming off a second-round knockout of Alessandro Costa at UFC Fight Night 216 in December. The 29-year-old has won his first four octagon bouts, including three by finish.
The June 3 UFC Fight Night lineup includes:
- Amir Albazi vs. Kai Kara-France
- Mayra Bueno Silva vs. Miesha Tate
- Ludovit Klein vs. Jim Miller
- Alex Caceres vs. Daniel Pineda
- Victor Altamirano vs. Tim Elliott
- Jinh Yu Frey vs. Elise Reed
- Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Luan Lacerda
- John Castaneda vs. Mateus Mendonca
- Maxim Grishin vs. Philipe Lins
- Abubakar Nurmagomedov vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
