With current UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo out with hand injuries, the promotion is moving towards creating an interim title. In the works is a bout between former champion and #1 contender Brandon Moreno and #2 Kai Kara-France to rematch with the interim title on the line at UFC 277 on July 30th.
News of the pairing was first reported by Ariel Helwani.
Moreno (19-6) is coming off a unanimous decision loss where he dropped the title to current champion Figueiredo at UFC 270. Moreno had been pushing towards a fourth match-up with the champion, but injuries have stalled those talks.
Kara-France (24-9) is currently riding a 3-fight win streak with his last a win over Askar Askarov in March of this year.
The pair first met at UFC 245 where Moreno emerged victorious via unanimous decision.
Kara-France is a member of New Zealand’s City Kickboxing, where he trains alongside middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. “The Last Stylebender” is expected to defend his own title earlier in the month, atop UFC 276.
Should the UFC finalize this interim title bout it would join a lineup that reportedly includes:
- Luke Rockhold vs. Paulo Costa
- Magomed Ankalaev vs. Anthony Smith
- Derrick Lewis vs. Sergei Pavlovich
- Ji Yeon Kim vs. Mariya Agapova
No location for UFC 277 has been set as of this post.
