Kai Kara-France vents frustration for Kai Askaura getting flyweight title shot: “He hasn’t even fought yet”

Kai Kara-France believes he should have been the one to get the next flyweight title shot.

UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja will defend his belt in the co-main event of UFC 310 against newcomer Kai Asakura. Asakura is the former RIZIN champion who has notable wins over Manel Kape, Kyoji Horiguchi, and Juan Archuleta, but it still came as a surprise that he received an immediate title shot in his first UFC fight.

Kara-France, meanwhile, thinks he should be the one fighting Pantoja at UFC 310 and is frustrated that he isn’t getting the title shot.

Kai Kara-France reacts to Kai Asakura getting a title shot in his UFC debut:

“My thoughts was ‘they’ve got the wrong Kai’… bro he hasn’t even fought yet…

It’s weird that you can come off no fights in the UFC and get a title shot.”

🎥 @skysportnz #UFC #MMA #UFC310 pic.twitter.com/eN8p2StfSP

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) October 17, 2024

“My thoughts was, they got the wrong Kai. After my fight, I was calling for the title shot and was thinking, ‘Sweet, I got it.’ And then I heard they’re bringing in a guy from Japan and his name is Kai,” Kara-France said to Sky Sports NZ. “Bro, he hasn’t even fought yet. I don’t think he’s earned it. You’ve got to at least show your worth or do something. And, you know, for guys that have been grinding for years in the flyweight division, fighting the best guys, we’ve proved that we belong here. That’s just how I feel. It’s weird that you can come in off no fights in the UFC and get a title shot.”

Kai Kara-France is frustrated that Kai Asakura is getting a title shot without ever fighting in the UFC. The Kiwi felt like he should be the one who is fighting Alexandre Pantoja after he scored an upset KO win over Steve Erceg at UFC 305 in Perth.

Dana White heaps praise on Kai Asakura

Despite Kai Kara-France thinking Kai Asakura shouldn’t get a title shot, UFC CEO Dana White was obviously not on the same page. Instead, the UFC boss had nothing but positive things to say about Kai Asakura after the promotion signed him and gave him the title shot.

White spoke to the media after the Contender Series and heaped praise on Asakura and his skillset.

“We are talking about the Japanese kid. He is a bad boy, you know,” Dana White said about Kai Asakura. “He isn’t a guy that needs to come in and be tested or figure out if he is one of the best in the world. We are going to find out that night if he is the best in the world. Timing plays a factor, but I think it wouldn’t have mattered when he came in. He was going to a title shot no matter who the champion was.”

Although White is impressed with Asakura, Kai Kara-France still doesn’t think it should be enough to get a title shot.

Kai Kara-France is currently ranked fourth at flyweight and is coming off the KO win over Steve Erceg. Kara-France is 8-4 in the UFC with notable wins over Cody Garbrandt, Askar Askarov, and Raulian Paiva among others.