No-shows title fight Kara-France came up short in his quest for the UFC Flyweight Championship on Saturday, falling to Alexandre Pantoja via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:55 of Round 3 at UFC 317... Impact Kara-France had lost back-to-back fights against Brandon Moreno and Amir Albazi before parlaying a knockout win over Steve Erceg last August into a title shot here. KKF got his opportunity and looked awful. He was predictably overwhelmed by the grappling of Pantoja, but Kara-France, who's only chance of winning was likely via knockout, was equally ineffective on the feet. He gave up three takedowns and 7:20 of control time in a fight which lasted a shade under 12 minutes. Looking back on it, it's fair to question why the UFC put Kara-France in this position -- he's now lost three of his last four fights -- but it's not as if the company really had any better options. It's highly unlikely the 32-year-old Kiwi ever fights for a title again with the company.
JUNE 29 • ROTOWIRE
