5 Things You Might Not Know About Kai Kara France
Preview: Kai KaraFrance vs. Askar Askarov
His knocks on the door grow louder by the day.
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As France approaches his pivotal showdown with Askarov at 125 pounds, here are five things you might not know about him:
1. He chose the deep-end-of-the-pool approach.
France made his professional mixed martial arts debut at the age of 17 when he put away Ray Kaitiana with punches in the first round of their Supremacy Cage Fighting 7 pairing on Nov. 27, 2010. He went on to compete five times as a teenager, compiling a 3-2 record in those bouts.
2. He got in touch with reality.
The Auckland, New Zealand, native reached the quarterfinals on Season 24 of “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2016. France authored a 30-second knockout of Terrence Mitchell before being eliminated in a unanimous decision loss to former Resurrection Fighting Alliance champion Alexandre Pantoja.
3. No one can question the quality of his inner circle.
France operates out of the famed City Kickboxing camp in his native New Zealand, where he trains under Eugene Bareman and sharpens his skills alongside a number of notable peers. They include Dan Hooker, Brad Riddell and reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
4. Durability has become a selling point.
“The Ultimate Fighter 24” quarterfinalist’s chin has served him well in his rise through the sport. He has not been knocked out since he was victimized by Agustin Delarmino in the third round of their encounter under the Legend Fighting Championship banner on March 30, 2012—3,648 days ago.
5. He has likely cured his wanderlust.
France has fought in 11 different countries: New Zealand, China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia, Thailand, Japan, the United States and the United Arab Emirates. He has also taken two fights in Guam, some 4,000 miles north of his hometown.
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