UFC 269: Kai Kara-France Coming With Bad Intentions

Las Vegas, NV – UFC flyweight Kai Kara-France will get the distinction of welcoming former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt to 125 pounds on Saturday night.

Speaking to media on Wednesday, Kara-France spoke on what he’s bringing to the fight and what it means to him.

“I’m coming in with bad intentions. I’m so happy to be here in Vegas it’s been a long journey. 9-months away since I’ve been, since my last fight. I’ve had time to kind of up-school, work on things, and I just can’t wait to get in there now. Just counting down the days,” Kara-France said.

Across from him in the octagon will be Garbrandt who makes his flyweight debut on the main card of UFC 269.

“You know, he and Cody know each other just because the fight scene is so small. You’ve got to look at bantamweights as potential opponents. I knew he wasn’t doing too well at bantamweight so I guess when you get desperate and you want to reinvent yourself there’s only one way. Either go up or go down. I had a fight booked, I had someone else. And the UFC said, ‘Hey Cody’s going to drop down to flyweight. Do you want to welcome him to the division?’ I said ‘Hell yeah’. This is a fight I’ve been dreaming of. A former champ, high-profile fighter. It’s just going to elevate me. This is a title fight eliminator in my eyes. I know they’ve given a title shot to Cody before, he ended up catching COVID. I’m in the same book so that’s all I’ve been focusing on is this date.”

Kara-France is in a unique position facing a former champion with a possible title shot on the line against the current champion in Brandon Moreno who he lost a very close decision to. With a win over Garbrandt, Kara-France sees a shot at gold in his future.

“I was happy for him. His story of leaving the UFC being ranked #16 in The Ultimate Fighter. And then coming back and then being on a tear, now he’s the flyweight world champion. He’s definitely improved a lot since we last fought but so have I. I’ve tried to become more well-rounded rather than just one dimensional. And that’s just full credit to our gym at City Kickboxing, our coach Eugene Bareman. He’s the glue that puts it all together. I just trust the system and trust the process. It definitely rubs off on you when you’re training with world champions day in and day out. Eventually one day me and Brandon will meet again. It’s just going to be a whole lot different.”

“I feel like he’s going to retain his title, he’s going to win the trilogy. But if any injuries happen I’ll be happy enough to step in once I get past Cody.”

Kai Kara-France will take on Cody Garbrandt at UFC 269 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday Dec 11th.

Watch the full UFC 269 media day scrum with Kai Kara-France above. The event takes place this Saturday, December 11 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. More coverage can be found below.