The first title fight for the UFC’s pay-per-view card in April has been announced, as Alexandre Pantoja will defend his flyweight throne at UFC 314 in Miami, Florida against New Zealand’s Kai Kara-France.
The news was first reported by Australian MMA insider Benny P on social media.
Per Sources Alexandre Pantoja vs Kai Kara France will co main UFC 314 on April 12th in Miami Florida for the UFC Flyweight championship pic.twitter.com/Ld5WB3LToz
— Benny P ?? (@Bendaman2001) January 29, 2025
Brazil’s Pantoja will be in search of his fourth consecutive title defense, the most of any 125-lber not named Demetrious Johnson, as well as the all-time UFC flyweight records for wins and finishes.
As for Kara-France, the Kiwi striking specialist is technically 1-1 in his last two since losing his interim title challenge to Brandon Moreno at UFC 277. However, his main event split decision loss to Amir Albazi was so controversial that 19/21 journalists and 89.2% of fans thought Kai won the fight, per MMA Decisions.
In his last outing, ‘Don’t Blink’ needed less than a round to knock out his neighbor from across the pond, Australia’s Steve Erceg, who took the champ to a split decision of his own at UFC 301.
MMA math does not work predictively, but easily dispatching the man who almost beat Pantoja – 46.1% of fans thought Erceg won that fight, but only 3/25 MMA writers – should give KKF confidence going into his first undisputed UFC title fight.
Flyweight title fights do not often headline UFC pay-per-views unless something unexpected happens; Pantoja’s last fight against Kai Asakura headlined UFC 310, but only after Belal Muhammad’s pull-out forced the original main event to be canceled.
As such, fans in Miami can likely expect another title fight to be added to the billing.
Already booked for UFC 314 are fights between Nikita Krylov & Dominick Reyes, Virna Jandiroba & Yan Xiaonan, Chase Hooper & Jim Miller, as well as a rumored-but-unconfirmed fight between Gilbert Burns & Michael Morales.
Pantoja highlights vs Asakura, an absolute masterclass pic.twitter.com/9bWemJvAFD
— ⚔️riley⚔️ (@yeljr23) December 9, 2024
UFC 314 takes place on Saturday, April 12, 2025, live on ESPN+ pay-per-view from Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, USA.