Kai
Kara-France believes upcoming opponent Steve Erceg
did enough to dethrone Alexandre
Pantoja in their UFC 301
title fight.
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Kara-France is set to return to action against Erceg at UFC 305
on Aug. 17 in Perth, Australia. Erceg made his UFC debut in June
2023 and racked up a three-fight winning streak to earn a title
shot against Pantoja within less than a year. The Australian
dropped a hard-fought unanimous decision against “The Cannibal” in
the main event at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this past
May.
Kara-France is not only impressed by Erceg’s rapid rise up the
rankings but also believes “Astro Boy” did enough to get his hand
raised against Pantoja.
“I’m excited for Steve. He’s done a really great job while he’s
been in the division,” Kara France told the New Zealand Herald. “It hasn’t been a long
time, four fights, and he already had a title fight. It’s pretty
impressive, and I thought he did enough to win that fight. It just
goes to show how good he is.
“I’m here to fight the best, that’s why when Steve came across the
table, I said, ‘Of course I’ll take it.’ I’m not here to pick my
fights. I’m here to fight whoever and let my work do the
talking.”
Kara-France hasn’t fought since a unanimous decision loss against
Amir
Albazi in June 2023. While Kara-France was scheduled to meet
Manel
Kape at UFC 293 in September 2023, the Kiwi standout was forced
out due to a concussion suffered in sparring. Returning from the
hiatus, Kara-France knows he has a lot left in him. Kara-France now
wants to gradually build his way back into title conversations,
starting with a potential win over Erceg in enemy territory.
“I love this. This is my passion,” he said. “This is what I love to
do, and when you have a rest and you come back into your normal
setting and the fire is still burning, you know you’ve got a lot of
years left to give.
“I’m just giving myself the best chance, giving myself a bit of
longevity. We’ve still got goals to hit, chase this title and the
best way to do that is to knock Steve out at his hometown, so
that’s the plan.”
Currently on a two-fight losing streak, Kara-France isn’t insistent
on an immediate title shot if he beats Erceg. Having spent the past
year in recovery, the process of simply fighting is now more
valuable for Kara-France.
“I’m just going to enjoy fighting and enjoy the process,” he said.
“When you get injured, you realize this isn’t forever and that was
a big takeaway: just enjoy everything and don’t take anything for
granted… Just be grateful to be in this position and keep working
hard. That’s the kind of mindset and mentality that I’ve got, and I
think that just comes with age and maturity, being a family man and
having a wife and children to support, the next five years — or
however long I’ve got in my career — I want to do it to the fullest
and put everything into it, climb the rankings, beat these
contenders and just let that be my body of work.
“When I get past Steve, who knows? If the UFC gives me a title
fight or want me to fight another contender, I’m just here to
compete.”