This coming Saturday at UFC 305, flyweight contender Kai Kara-France returns to the Octagon after a 14-month hiatus due to ongoing neurological issues.
His last outing came last June against Amir Albazi, in which Kai Kara-France was on the wrong side of a controversial decision.
The Kiwi was then booked to take on Manel Kape at UFC 293 in September, but he withdrew from the bout due to a concussion.
He finally returns this weekend to take on Steve Erceg in what could potentially be a number-one contender fight.
Kai Kara-France opens up about failed neurological tests
Prior to his loss against Albazi, he took on former flyweight champion, Brandon Moreno, in a tough and grueling fight, subsequently losing the fight via stoppage in round three.
Ahead of his fight against ‘Astroboy’ this coming weekend, the 31-year-old has opened up regarding the struggles of his back-to-back losses, revealing that he failed neurological tests which resulted in him having to take six months off contact training.
“Time away has given me clarity, taking six months off contact is probably the best thing I could do, listening to all the specialists, all the guys here to save you from yourself, I guess fighters and athletes are going to be too tough for their own good,” Kara-France said at the UFC 305 media day.
“I did all these balance tests and eye tests and with the neurologist, it felt like an exam, I had a three-hour exam that I had to go through, like puzzles, memory tests, drawing tests, and it’s not to see how (good) you are at drawing, it’s to see how good you are at multitasking.
“At the start, my test wasn’t that good I was getting like 50% for my age and education, and then four months later I did the same test and I was testing at 90%. It goes to show I was always going to heal, I just had to give it time,” the 31-year-old said.
Kara-France also admitted that he thinks he has gone through camps and fights with concussions in the past, likely not knowing he had one.
“Oh, 100% (I’ve fought with a concussion before), it’s just something that I guess you come accustomed to, when it’s a bad one, that’s what really makes you have to take a step back and let it do its thing,” he admitted.
Kai Kara-France comments on the state of the UFC flyweight division
Since Kara-France’s last fight, Erceg has made his UFC debut, fought twice more against two solid contenders, and then fought Alexandre Pantoja for the title.
With the UFC flyweight division being one of the fastest moving, ‘Don’t Blink’ has given his opinion on the state of the 125lb division.
“It’s a funny time for flyweights, especially as contenders because it’s wide open. Anyone can beat anyone and anyone can get a title shot. With the state of this flyweight division, there have been a lot of guys who have just come through and done really well.
“(Muhammad) Mokaev was a guy that was obviously winning but this isn’t wrestling, this isn’t grappling, this isn’t doing the bare minimum just to win, this is an entertainment sport, this is the hurt business, if you’re not in there to entertain and lay it on the line (then you don’t deserve to be here),” the flyweight contender stated.
With a win over the former title challenger, Erceg, Kara-France could well earn himself a title shot, despite two previous losses, simply because he would be a fresh matchup for the Brazilian champion.