Iraqi’s Amir Albazi won former interim title challenger Kai Kara-France at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas via a split decision.
Though Amir Albazi’s fight saw him show off an impressive performance against a flyweight ranked in the UFC’s official top five, CBS Sports says it likely will not inspire an immediate title shot.
The majority of the Judges sided with Albazi after Kara-France held up his defense for most of the time during the fight. It was the first time for both fighters to go past three rounds in a fight. CBS Sports noted that Albazi was visibly slower in Round 4, while Kara-France looked faster the further the fight progressed.
Many people felt the judges’ decision was wrong, but Albazi (17-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) came out confident in the result and has his eyes on a championship fight at 125 pounds, “keep becoming the king, I know I am”, he said. He remains undefeated throughout his promotional tenure.
“I had too much fun,” Albazi said during the UFC Vegas 74 post-fight show. “I tried to get into a fistfight. I would be like, ‘You think you’ve got a good right hand, I have a good right hand too.’ I didn’t really follow my game plan. If I would have followed my game plan, I would have taken him out in the third round.”
The victory was important for Albazi, who sought to establish himself as a credible threat to the flyweight title and keep his momentum churning after a red-hot 4-0 start to his UFC career.
Albazi did not call out any single fighter by name after his win but instead kept his attention focused on the upcoming flyweight title bout between reigning champion Brandon Moreno and Alexandre Pantoja, which serves as UFC 290’s co-main event in July.