Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
The Sydney, Australia card has just lost one of its top-ranked regional fighters after flyweight contender Kara-France was forced out with an injury.
Sydney, Australia has lost another big match featuring one of their top regional fighters.
UFC 293 is starting to look a little shaky after New Zealand flyweight contender Kai Kara-France was forced to withdraw from his highly anticipated bout with Manel Kape due to a concussion suffered in training. “Don’t Blink” announced the news on his social media accounts.
“I just wanted to come on here and give you guys an update,” he said. “Unfortunately, I’ve had to withdraw from my next fight in Sydney, Australia at UFC 293. I suffered a concussion over the weekend in training. I’ve been speaking to my coaches, my team, and my family, they all think it’s the right decision to put my health first.”
“I just want to say sorry to all the friends and family that bought tickets, flights, accommodation,” he continued. “All of the fans that were excited to fight live. I’m gutted I won’t be a part of this card. It’s been a tough week with my second son being born as well as me pulling out of this fight. Mixed emotions. Frustrated. But I’ve just got to focus on the positives and just spend time with my loved ones. I appreciate the ongoing support and we’ll be back soon. Much love.”
Kai Kara-France is out of UFC 293 fight with Manel Kape pic.twitter.com/dA0k6n8Wmz
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) August 21, 2023
‘Frustrated’ is also the word we’d use for how Manel Kape is feeling right now. He’s been dealing with multiple fight drop outs over the past year and a half. In that time he’s been booked in fights against Sumudaerji, Rogerio Bontorin, Alex Perez, and Deiveson Figueiredo. None of them have gone down. He did not hold back upon hearing the news of Kara-France’s withdrawal.
“Kai Kara-France you piece of s—, you come to my Instagram saying ‘You better show up,’ and now you give up the fight, you f—ing coward,” he wrote on Twitter. “Another one.”
“I’m collecting bodies without even having to put the sword in their hearts,” he added in another tweet. “This is definitely a mental game.”
@kaikarafrance You piece of shit, you come to my instagram saying “you better show up” and now you give up the fight, you fucking coward…
Another one .
— マネル・ケイプ Manel Kape (@ManelKape) August 21, 2023
Here’s hoping Kape gets a replacement opponent for September 9th. His last fight was a December 2022 victory over David Dvorak, his third win in a row. As for Kara-France, he’ll look to snap a two-fight losing streak when he returns from this injury.
This is the second big fighter from the Australia / New Zealand region to pull out of the Sydney card. Australian women’s flyweight prospect Casey O’Neill was forced off the event with a broken nose. Still on: Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland, Tai Tuivasa vs. Alexander Volkov, and Carlos Ulberg vs. Jung Da-un.