Kara-France and Young win in UFC
Kai Kara-France’s UFC star is on the rise.
The Kiwi flyweight beat Raulian Paiva at UFC 234 in Melbourne yesterday via split decision after the close fight went the three round distance.
Kara-France, 25, was having his second fight in the UFC after beating American Elias Garcia at UFC 142 in Adelaide in December.
With two wins from as many fights, this year looks set to be a massive year for the Aucklandbased fighter who trains out of City Kickboxing under Eugene Bareman.
Kara-France was given time to recover from an illegal groin strike in the third and final round.
Two judges scored the close contest 29-28 for Kara-France with the third scoring the fight 28-29 for Paiva. Kara-France’s City Kickboxing team-mate Shane Young has produced a late flurry of strikes to help him win his featherweight clash against American Austin Arnett inside Rod Laver Arena by unanimous decision.
Young, who took some time out during the second half of last year to deal with personal issues, knocked Arnett down with a brutal right hand to the head in the final seconds of the fight.
Young, 25, took control of an entertaining fight in the second round with some heavy strikes but Arnett continued to throw back some powerful shots of his own. He now holds a UFC record of two wins and one loss.
The Melbourne card was thrown into turmoil early yesterday morning when Kiwi-born Australian middleweight champion Robert Whittaker had to withdraw due to a hernia.
Whittaker’s withdrawal meant his opponent, Kelvin Gastelum, would not fight and Kiwi sensation Israel Adesanya headlined the card in a middleweight bout against Anderson Silva.