Kai Kara-France shares inspiration he drew from Israel Adesanya's UFC 287 victory

Israel Adesanya's second title reign began as he reclaimed the middleweight belt from Alex Pereira at UFC 287, whom he had previously lost to three times, two of which came in kickboxing. His City Kickboxing teammate Kai Kara-France shared how 'The Last Stylebender's victory inspired him for a future matchup with flyweight champion Brandon Moreno, who has beaten him twice.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour, the No.3-ranked flyweight discussed his most recent loss, stating:

"I left it in the cage. I didn't take it with me. I was proud of the camp I put together. I was winning that fight until I wasn't, and there's some positives that we can take away from it. It just shows that I'm right there with the best guys. Moreno's a great fighter, a great champion, did great against Figgy, and made it look easy. It just showed that we're right there."

Kai Kara-France continued:

"Having a teammate like Izzy, who just beat a guy that's beaten him three times, just reminds me that it's possible. It's something that I'll never lose sight of. That's the end goal - to be a flyweight champion. We've learned from that experience, being in my first five-rounder, my first world title fight. I'm older now, I'm 30. I've got more experience, a lot more wiser. We just do it again."

Check out Kai Kara-France's comments on Israel Adesanya below:

The interim flyweight title bout, which took place at UFC 277, was closely contested before Brandon Moreno landed a third-round TKO. Kara-France will enter the octagon this weekend when he faces Amir Albazi in the main event of UFC on ESPN 46.

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Israel Adesanya's second title reign: 'The Last Stylebender' discusses upcoming title defense

Israel Adesanya does not generally take long to get back in the octagon. The middleweight champion, who has defeated all of the division's top contenders, recently shared the two opponents that could be the next to challenge him for the title:

"🫀Face the Pain‼️ Back in the day when you heard this track…you know s**ts about to get REAL!! We’ve come a looong way as a sport. It’s been awesome to watch the growth…then I jumped in the game and played my part in taking it to new levels and to millions (and millions) of new people around the world 🌍. My next game will be something special, regardless of who wins. Who do you want to win, Rob [Australian flag] or Dricus [French flag] and why?"

Check out Israel Adesanya's tweet below:

Robert Whittaker and Dricus du Plessis are set to clash at UFC 290. Adesanya has already defeated the No.2-ranked middleweight twice. Meanwhile, du Plessis, who is the No.6-ranked middleweight, is the highest-ranked opponent that 'The Last Stylebender' has not defeated.