4 Positives & 2 Negatives From UFC Fight Night: Kai Kara-France vs. Amir Albazi

On Saturday night, the mixed martial arts leader returned for its latest event, UFC Fight Night: Kai Kara-France vs. Amir Albazi.

After a two-week break since its last card at the Apex facility in Las Vegas, the UFC returned to action rejuvenated with a highly anticipated trip to (drumroll)… you guessed it, the Apex.

And like previous events at an ‘arena’ that’s silence is beginning to become more and more apparent, the June 3 lineup once again received slack for a perceived lack of star power and major stakes.

But while I subscribe to the view that the promotion has entered a worrying era when it comes to watered down cards at a lackluster venue, that doesn’t mean the fighters in action don’t provide entertainment.

That trend looked set to continue on Saturday, with a number of intriguing athletes taking to the Octagon. That was certainly the case in the main event, which saw flyweight contenders Kara-France and Albazi look to make the most of a rare spotlight shone on the 125-pound division.

Elsewhere, the likes of Alex Caceres, Jim Miller, Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, Abubakar Nurmagomedov, and Jamie Mullarkey all had their latest assignments, and certainly boasted the potential to make the card a feisty affair.

But did that come to fruition? Let’s find out with all the positives and negatives from UFC Fight Night: Kara-France vs. Albazi.

The flyweights take center stage at #UFCVegas74!

👇 Get your picks in NOW 👇

B2YB @UFCStrike pic.twitter.com/qTc054IzYA

— UFC (@ufc) June 3, 2023

Negative – Perspective

Nothing says MMA’s premier promotion like a crowd-less event inside what is essentially a warehouse shortly after over 50,000 fans piled into Warsaw’s PGE Narodowy for KSW 83: Colosseum 2, am I right?

It gets tiresome writing about the UFC’s continued presence at the Apex for many of its cards. But do you know what’s more tiresome? The UFC’s continued presence at the Apex for many of its cards…

It’s worth recalling some remarks from Dana White following UFC 260 in 2021.

“It’s the easy, lazy way to do things, but this isn’t the right thing to do,” White said regarding Apex-held cards. “We should be in sold-out arenas, fans packed, going crazy. And unfortunately, we’ll all have to start traveling to all these cities again. But that’s the right thing to do. This is the easy, lazy thing to do, and it’s nice, and it was awesome while it lasted. But, hopefully, this is over.”

Well, over two years later, what’s changed in the mind of the UFC higher-ups? Perhaps the more pertinent question surrounds one constant — a focus on finances over fan and fighter experience.

What little anticipation there was for UFC Fight Night: Kara-France vs. Albazi quickly dissipated upon switching to it from KSW 83: Colosseum 2. It essentially felt like turning on a regional card following the conclusion of a massive stadium show from the world’s top organization.

Only, the consensus MMA leader was actually sizably trumped by Europe’s best.

The UFC certainly didn’t make Las Vegas seem like the ‘fight capital of the world’ on Saturday night…

Images: @NickBaldwinMMA/Twitter & Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Positive – Bringing A Nation To Its Feet

There must be some level of pressure when it comes to thousands of your compatriots filling a venue at 4:30 a.m. to show their support as you represent your country on the sport’s biggest stage for the first time.

But Muhammad Naimov carried that on his shoulders and made his nation’s early start/late night more than worthwhile.

The Tajik prospect, who has been fighting his way back towards a UFC opportunity since a defeat on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2020, made the most of a short-notice chance following Guram Kutateladze’s forced withdrawal.

With that, Naimov shared the Octagon with the previously in-form Jamie Mullarkey. Through close to eight minutes, it appeared that the Australian was doing everything right en route to a likely third straight win.

Then came as ‘boom’ of a moment as possible, with the newcomer landing a stiff short right hand with his back against the cage. A few ground-and-pound punches later and Tajikistan had another Octagon victor.

And how about the passion on display in the post-fight interview? That’s a fighting man, and one who has certainly entered the territory of ‘name to watch’ moving forward.

WHAT A COMEBACK KO 🤯

They are going crazy in Tajikistan right now for Muhammad Naimov!!!! #UFCVegas74 pic.twitter.com/kNldANTqRe

— UFC (@ufc) June 3, 2023

Positive – Thank You!

It feels good to be able to write an official’s handling of a foul as a positive for a change.

In recent months, we’ve seen numerous fouls met with meaningless warnings, including some absolute horror shows when it comes to the allowance of fence grabs.

One of the frequent offenders has been Chris Tognoni. Thankfully, however, the veteran referee handled things perfectly in the UFC Fight Night: Kara-France vs. Albazi preliminary fight between John Castañeda and Muin Gafarov.

At one point, a hard-looking clash of heads occurred, with the Tajik newcomer clearly leaning with his head while entering an exchange. Like Brendan Fitzgerald, I was surprised to see a point taken, but that shock shouldn’t be mistaken as disagreement.

Fighters are responsible for their weapons, and with such a clear and potentially fight-ending violation (as Bobby Green and Jared Gordon’s recent fight showed us), a warning simply isn’t sufficient.

Bravo Mr. Tognoni. Now let’s normalize first-offense point deductions for clear and severe indiscretions.

What a scrap between Castaneda and Gafurov! Sexi Mexi edges the decision. #UFCVegas74 pic.twitter.com/KVervGSGsW

— MMANews (@mmanews_com) June 4, 2023

Positive – Back With A Bang

While a number of other prospects may have emerged and made themselves known since her last appearance, make no mistake, Karine Silva is a future flyweight contender.

When we last saw “Killer” inside the Octagon, she followed up an impressive guillotine choke on DWCS with a debut first-round D’Arce choke against Poliana Botelho at UFC Vegas 56.

If a year away from the cage had stalled the momentum from that result, Silva regained it and more against debuting former Invicta FC champion Ketlen Souza on Saturday night.

It took less than two minutes for Silva to maintain her one hundred percent finishing rate, making Souza her 16th stoppage victim courtesy of a gruesome (and I mean gruesome) kneebar, ankle lock, achilles lock; whatever-the-hell-it-was lock.

Within seconds of “Killer” securing the submission attempt, Souza tapped before rolling over and holding her knee. Suffice to say, the replays provided more than enough context for that reaction…

THE KNEE POPPED 😱 #UFCVegas74 pic.twitter.com/J8ETOnh1T4

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 4, 2023

While Silva may be only two fights into her career on MMA’s biggest stage, a quick rise to the top and future Octagon collisions with a number of high-ranked contenders at 125 pounds is already a mouth-watering prospect.

Positive – Jim F’kn Miller.

There’s nothing like an inspirational story detailing a debuting fighter’s difficult and long journey to the UFC being followed by a 23-second loss. That’s gotta be up there with family-in-the-crowd defeats…

The victim of the unfortunate fate on Saturday night was Jesse Butler, who had his arrival stalled in about as brutal a fashion as possible. The Louisiana-based fighter filled in for Jared Gordon on late notice, but unlike Naimov earlier in the night, he was unable to capitalize on the opening.

His bout with veteran Jim Miller quickly descended into a firefight, and it was the UFC’s most prolific victor and record holder for Octagon appearances who landed the final blow.

Butler had his lights switched off with a vicious left hook, and as if that wasn’t wild enough, he ate a clean follow-up blow after crumpling to the ground unconscious.

While not the debut that Butler had planned, this result was overall a positive not only because of the spectacular finish but also because of the man who dealt it. Despite approaching 40, Miller’s activity isn’t slowing and his latest win leaves him an impressive 4-1 across his last five.

Saturday’s finish was among Miller’s best, showing that he’s aging like a fine wine. That UFC 300 appearance is looking to be on the cards…

ANOTHER HIGHLIGHT ADDED TO @JimMiller_155’s RESUME!!! 🤯 #UFCVegas74 pic.twitter.com/Xv24b2Kbvd

— UFC (@ufc) June 4, 2023

Negative – It Continues…

The judging debate has long been one of the most discussed and frustrating topics in the sport, and it remained as such following the UFC Fight Night: Kara-France vs. Albazi headliner.

On paper, I should be looking forward to close fights because competitive MMA is what we’re after. In actual fact, I largely dread the aftermath of them, when a multitude of undesirable characteristics rear their heads.

Namely, a lack of education on the scoring criteria, biases, and betting fury.

For full transparency, I scored the flyweight headliner 48-47 in favor of Albazi — both live and upon a full replay — with rounds one, two, and three going to the Iraqi fighter. To put it frankly, the suggestion that Kara-France was ‘robbed’ given how the opening three frames played out is completely laughable and utterly ridiculous.

Now, the New Zealander may have reason to feel aggrieved owing to the scorecard of Chris Lee, whose decision to give Albazi the fourth round ultimately decided the fight. But given the reactions from some, you’d think “Don’t Blink” recorded four knockdowns and seven tight submission attempts. In reality, it was another low-activity round with little to separate the two.

It’s fascinating how perspectives change as a fight goes on.

Round one – most admit it was close and could have gone either way.Round two – most admit it was close, but Albazi got the better of the exchanges.Round three – most admit it was close and could have gone either way.

‘3-0 Albazi? What fight are you watching!’

If it needs saying, and apparently it does, three close rounds can still fall to one person.

Ultimately, neither man fought in a way that left them any legitimate complaints about whatever the result was to be, and it’s frankly bizarre to see it painted in a different way. It’s also disappointing to see Israel Adesanya spur on an illogical and flawed debate simply for the sake of backing his teammate.

“The Last Stylebender” took to Twitter to lay into both judges who went against his man. Had he solely targeted Lee, maybe it wouldn’t have been an issue. But to drive unwarranted criticism at Sal D’Amato, who turned in a perfectly reasonable scorecard, demonstrates his motive to be nothing but one deriving from bias.

And that, in a nutshell, is why the judging debate is problematic. It exists for those unhappy with a teammate, fan favorite, or name on their bet slip losing to create a false narrative. 

Side note — isn’t it hilarious when Verdict MMA pops up after every close fight with a completely irrelevant scoring metric that pools together a fanbase notorious for not understanding the criteria?

#UFCVegas74 Official Scorecard: Kai Kara-France vs Amir Albazi (@AmirAlbazi)

All Tonight's Scorecards: https://t.co/J2Pa7JqU82 pic.twitter.com/Luk9grt8Vc

— UFC News (@UFCNews) June 4, 2023


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