Pantoja def. Kara-France
Sub · Round 3 · 1:55
Pantoja vs Kara-France — Flyweight Title · UFC 317
What happened
Alexandre Pantoja retained the flyweight title, submitting Kai Kara-France at 1:55 of the third round.
Watch
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More videos · 6 clips
Signature moments
Signature moments
Analysts
No verified pre-fight analyst picks are logged for this historical bout.
Track record rows appear only when a timestamped source has been reviewed.
Archive
Pre-fight material — kept for transparency, folded by default.
Tale of the Tape
Records & career stats — as they entered fight night
- 29-5-0
- Record
- 25-11-0
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- Recent formRecent formWin–loss record over the fighter’s last five bouts, newest first, as carried in their UFC/FightMetric career stats.
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- Age
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- Height
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- Reach
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- StanceStanceWhich side a fighter leads from — a striking term, not a religious one. Orthodox: right-handed, left foot and hand forward (the common default). Southpaw: the mirror image, right side forward (usually a left-hander). Switch: changes between the two during a fight.
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- Finish rateFinish %Finish rateThe share of a fighter’s wins that ended inside the distance — by KO/TKO or submission — rather than going to the judges’ scorecards. Higher means more finishes.
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- Wins by KO/TKOKO/TKO wins
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- Wins by submissionSub wins
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- Sig. strikes landed / minStrikes / minSignificant strikes landed per minuteAverage number of significant strikes a fighter lands for every minute of fight time — a read on striking output and pace. From UFC/FightMetric career stats.
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- Sig. strikes absorbed / minAbsorbed / minSignificant strikes absorbed per minuteAverage number of significant strikes a fighter takes for every minute of fight time. Lower is better — it means they get hit less often. From UFC/FightMetric career stats.
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- Striking defenseStrike def.Striking defenseThe percentage of opponents’ significant strikes that do not land — strikes slipped, blocked or evaded. Higher is better. Not the same as striking accuracy, which counts your own strikes that land. From UFC/FightMetric.
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- Takedown defenseTD def.Takedown defenseThe percentage of opponents’ takedown attempts that are stuffed. Higher means harder to put on the mat. From UFC/FightMetric.
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- Avg. fight timeAvg. timeAverage fight timeThe mean length of the fighter’s bouts (minutes:seconds) — a rough read on whether they tend to finish early or go the distance. From UFC/FightMetric.
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- Brazil
- Nationality
- New Zealand
Career stats per UFC.com; recent form is each fighter's last five bouts. Numbers reflect records coming into fight night. Bars compare each stat on a fixed scale; the “Edge” marker flags the leading corner where the gap is meaningful. The snapshot plots five career rates — output, striking defense, durability (strikes absorbed, inverted), takedown defense and finish rate — each normalised on its own scale.
Pre-fight analysis — how we saw it going in
Case for Pantoja
Pantoja's title-level edge came from forcing flyweight fights into messy, exhausting sequences. He could strike in combination, but his real leverage was in turning every clinch or scramble into back takes, mat returns and the kind of attritional grappling that breaks opponents over longer rounds.
Case for Kara-France
Kara-France had the cleaner one-shot speed and the sharper pocket exits. His route was to keep the fight in open space, punish entries with counters and make Pantoja pay every time the champion tried to close distance without first setting the hands.
What We Were Watching For
- Can Kara-France bank early striking rounds before Pantoja starts chaining wrestling together?
- Does Pantoja find enough cage time and top control to drain the challenger across five rounds?
- Which moments at boxing range actually force the fight's terms: Kara-France counters or Pantoja pressure?
Fighters
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