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A previously announced bout between Sergio Pettis and Kai Kara-France will not be happening.
Earlier this week, the UFC announced in a social media post that Sergio Pettis vs. Kai Kara-France was official for UFC 245.
But according to ESPN, Pettis’ deal with the promotion has actually expired and he plans to test the market as a free agent. The UFC’s post has since been deleted.
As a result, a flyweight bout between Kara-France and Brandon Moreno has been added to the Dec. 14 pay-per-view card, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. NZ Herald reported the news Thursday.
Pettis, who recently returned to the winning column with a unanimous decision over Tyson Nam at UFC Mexico City, has begun fielding offers from other promotions, per the ESPN report. He is also not ruling out an Octagon return.
Kara-France, a rising contender at 125 pounds, is coming off a win over Mark De La Rosa in August. He is 3-0 in the UFC and is riding an eight-fight winning streak. Prior to his Octagon run, he competed on The Ultimate Fighter 24 in 2016, but did not get immediately signed to the promotion.
Moreno fought to a draw against Askar Askarov in his last fight at UFC Mexico City in September. That marked his UFC return after getting released from the promotion last year after two straight losses. “The Baby Assassin” bounced back with an LFA flyweight title win earlier this year, then was re-signed to the UFC.
UFC 245 is expected to be headlined by a welterweight title fight between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington. Also on the card, featherweight champ Max Holloway meets Alexander Volkanovski and women’s bantamweight titleholder Amanda Nunes faces Germaine de Randamie.