Kai Kara-France is hoping to feature on UFC 305 in Perth later this summer, and ‘Don’t Blink’ knows exactly who he should be facing come August.
Whilst the typically mellow Kai Kara-France might be known for his soft-spoken demeanor outside of the octagon, the ever-entertaining flyweight contender chose not to mince his words as he called out, who he perceives to be, the biggest “bully” in his weight class.
Kai Kara-France has had a difficult time of late in the UFC
Despite defeats to Brandon Royval and Brandon Moreno earlier in his UFC tenure, Kai Kara-France was heading into his UFC 277 co-main event riding an impressive three-fight winning streak, which included a highlight-reel KO of Cody Garbrandt.
Yet it’s turned out to be a rather frustrating time for the fan-favorite flyweight since that interim title rematch with Moreno, as high-profile fights against Alex Perez and Manel Kape were canceled either side of a razor-close split decision loss to Amir Albazi last summer.
Now, ‘Don’t Blink’ is looking to get back into the win column in a big way – and where else could the talented 31-year-old make his return but Perth at UFC 305.
‘Don’t Blink’ calls out Manel Kape for UFC 305 in Perth
The MMA world leader is returning to Perth for UFC 305 in August and Kara-France has said that he wants to run it back with Manel Kape after the New Zealander was forced to withdraw from their scheduled bout at UFC 293 in Sydney with a concussion.
Speaking via the Combat TV YouTube channel, Kara-France noted: “It’s a fight that I’ve always wanted to run back, the amount of hype behind this fight, the fans want it, I want it and I know he wants it – if he’s ready for Perth in August, let’s run it back.”
Whilst ‘Don’t Blink’ said that he “doesn’t normally hate anyone” in the UFC, Kape remains “pretty high on that list” given the amount of trash-talk he threw Kara-France’s way after the UFC 293 withdrawal:
“The way he went about my injury saying it was fake, the way he was talking, throwing a drink bottle at me – he has this entitlement like he’s the champ, he’s just trying to be a bully and I hate seeing that, I just see insecurities all over.”
“In New Zealand, usually the loudest [voice] in the room is the most scared so that’s all I see when I look at him,” said the #4 ranked flyweight.
“Now that I am fully recovered and healthy, he’s coming off an injury – you know he’s calling me out for pulling out and now you’ve missed weight and pulled out [yourself]. There’s enough time to get ready if you are injured, so let’s do it in Perth and let’s settle it.”
Manel Kape fires back at comments about him pulling out
Kape was originally meant to headline a Fight Night card in the Apex against Matheus Nicolau at the end of April; however, the Portuguese ‘Starboy’ withdrew with an injury.
Kape shared on social media that “This is the first time I’ve ever pull out of a fight,” stating that during training he “broke the cartilage of my rib and I couldn’t move for a week.”
Luckily, Kape shared that his “surgery went extremely well” before reiterating that “all my fights that got canceled in the past was due to my opponents.”
“Where I came from we used to fight for free, I’m not bragging about I’m just being honest so don’t ever think I’m like some of you guys.”
UFC 305 takes place from the RAC Arena in Perth on August 17 – it currently has no fights officially confirmed.