Scouting Report: Kai Kara-France

Kai Kara-France

Born: March 26, 1993 (Age: 30) in Auckland, New Zealand
Division: Flyweight
Height: 5’4”
Reach: 66.5”
Record: 24-10 (7-3 UFC)
Association: City Kickboxing
Stage of Career: Prime

Summary: Kara-France carries fantastic standup, can throw virtually every strike well and launches exquisite combinations. He sets up matters with an excellent jab, with his biggest strikes—a devastating right cross or a pinpoint accurate overhand right, both of which possess knockout power—often following soon after. He has stout right uppercut and a tremendous but underutilized left hook. He also features damaging kicks to the legs and body. Kara-France has a certain weakness to being hit with strikes in the clinch, but he is difficult to expose through grappling due to effective takedown defense and an inane ability to get back to his feet. He has some offensive grappling at his disposal, the most effective aspect being his ground-and-pound. However, he rarely finds himself in top position long enough to gain separation and successfully execute it. Certain defensive deficiencies are keeping Kara-France from achieving a higher level of success at 125 pounds. Specifically, he appears to be uncomfortable with firefights in the pocket. He also has issues with consistent knee and kick attacks, as Brandon Royval demonstrated. These small vulnerabilities are tough to exploit.

STRIKING

• Stance: Orthodox.
• Hand Speed: Average.
• Jab: Straight and technical but lacks some speed. He doubles and triples up on it quite well. An effective weapon.
• Cross: Straight and technical, it offers knockout power. He floored Elias Garcia, Mark De La Rosa and Cody Garbrandt with it.
• Left Hook: Throws it with a short arc and textbook, subtle rotation from the hips, giving it obvious power. He could stand to use it more.
• Overhand Right: Similar properties to the cross. A technical punch with a tight arc, it is accurate and powerful. It set up the knockout sequence against Garbrandt.
• Uppercuts: Outstanding from the right side. Technical, fairly accurate and hard. It was the punch with which he finished off Garbrandt.
• Solitary Striker or Volume Puncher: Fires some nice combinations that do not degrade with further strikes.
• Favorite Combination(s): The one-two, with the jab leading into either a right cross or overhand right, both which are devastating.
• Leg Kicks: Technical and powerful, he throws them with decent speed. Kara-France has hurt a number of opponents with them.
• Body Kicks: Similar properties to his leg kicks. He could benefit from using them more. He hurt De La Rosa badly with one of them.
• Head Kicks: Average at best. Telegraphed, piecemeal shot. He bends over when he throws it, making it easy to anticipate and block.
• Chains Kicks to Punches: No.

Kara-France is an outstanding striker who throws virtually every punch and kick well. It all starts with an excellent jab. Despite his being short, even for flyweight, it is an effective weapon upon which he can double or triple up. It is also a setup for his two best weapons: the right cross and overhand right. He can throw both instantly after the jab, and they are damaging blows that have blasted, knocked down and knocked out numerous opponents, even those who are accomplished strikers themselves. Kara-France also has a tremendous left hook, an invaluable strike for shorter fighters, so it remains a mystery as to why he does not use it more often. Effective kicks to the legs and body add an additional layer to his attack. Kara-France throws stout combinations and generally moves well, though certain high-level defensive flaws can leave him vulnerable.

CLINCH

• Physical Strength: He can hold his own, even against big, strong flyweights.
• Technique: Textbook mastery of all the fundamental positions.
• Knees: Rarely throws them due to his lack of height and concern for being taken down.
• Elbows: Rarely throws them.
• Defense Against Knees/Elbows: Vulnerable to both blows due to his stature. The clinch is an area Kara-France wants to avoid. He has solid grappling chops and can often spin off the cage, but due to his lack of height and wariness about being taken down, he has frequently absorbed knees and elbows in close quarters.

GRAPPLING

Wrestling from a Shot: Not necessarily fast or strong, but it is technical enough. He managed to chain wrestle Raulian Paiva to the ground at one point.
Wrestling in the Clinch: Decent. Managed to get a high-crotch single into a lift and slam against De La Rosa.
Takedown Defense: A definite strength. He features a nice sprawl and has shown the ability to push the opponent’s head down and evade. Kara-France excels in scrambles and can easily turn and push into the opponent when it looks like he may concede a takedown.
Ability to Return to Feet: Utterly fantastic at hip escaping and scrambling back to an upright position, even against bigger, heavier fighters with excellent jiu-jitsu. Against Paiva, he executed a backward roll from the bottom using his upkicks and stood up.
Submissions: Average.
Defense/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the Bottom: Since he focuses on getting to his feet, he does not tie up opponents. He also often fails to dodge strikes from the top.
Top Control: Some opponents can get back to their feet against him, but it is far from a foregone conclusion. He can adjust between positions based on their movement, whether it involves taking the back, a wrestling ride, etc.
Ground-and-Pound: He can be lethal when he gains separation, as he puts his body into powerful elbows and throws fast punches at a continuous rate. However, he can be tied up and swept by accomplished jiu-jitsu players.

Kara-France tries to win fights on the feet, but it has proven difficult to get much done against him in the grappling department. Textbook sprawls and scrambles highlight his stellar takedown defense. When he does find himself grounded, he ranks among the best in the sport at getting back to his feet with hip escapes and scrambles. Opponents who manage to keep Kara-France on the mat have shown he is vulnerable to ground-and-pound due to his focus on returning to an upright position. He can occasionally surprise adversaries with takedowns from the clinch or a shot, especially lesser grapplers. Spearheaded by terrific elbows and punches, his ground-and-pound is outstanding for as long as he can maintain top position and gain separation.

INTANGIBLES

• Athleticism/General Physical Strength: Sufficiently powerful and tremendously dynamic, like most top flyweights.
• Cardio: Normally fights at an energetic pace for all three rounds without a noticeable drop-off. However, he can be pressured into slowing down in Round 3.
• Chin: Stands up to scrutiny. He has been hurt and dropped before, but it takes a substantial shot to do the trick.
• Recuperative Powers: Excellent. He recovered quickly after eating a spinning back elbow from Royval.
• Intelligence: He fights smart inside matches and rarely makes any obvious errors. However, his style has not evolved much over the years, with weaknesses in the same areas that have long plagued him.