A 100-event drought of flyweight headliners has ended after Brendan Allen vs. Jack Hermansson was scratched from the top of UFC Vegas 74 due to injury.
It may have taken another fight falling out, but UFC flyweights are finally being featured in the headline slot of a UFC event.
The last time flyweights have been featured as the main event was at UFC 256 in December 2020, when Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno fought to a majority draw in the first fight of their historic quadrilogy. You’d think that would have signaled the start of a new era of respect for the flyweights, but it has taken 100 events for a men’s 125 pound fight to sit atop a card once again.
It wouldn’t have happened without UFC Vegas 74’s original main event getting canceled.
Middleweights Jack Hermansson and Brendan Allen were originally set to headline the June 3rd event at the UFC Apex, but an undisclosed injury to Hermansson has scuttled that bout. Now No. 3 ranked flyweight Kai Kara-France will face No. 7 ranked Amir Albazi as the new top fight. News of Hermansson’s injury was originally reported by ESPN, while Kara-France relayed news of the upgrade on the Who The Fook Are These Guys? podcast.
“I’ve just found out that my next fight, I’m the headline now, it’s five rounds,” Kara-France said. “I’m gonna go out there and remind everyone why I’m the best in the world!”
“Don’t Blink” is looking to bounce back after a disappointing interim flyweight title fight defeat to Brandon Moreno. While he looked good through the fight, Moreno would catch Kara-France with a liver kick that dropped the tough New Zealand fighter. After some ground and pound, the referee stepped in to stop the fight at 4:34 of round three (watch the highlights here).
Amir Albazi has made quite the impact since arriving in the UFC halfway through 2020. The 15-1 fighter is on a four fight win streak in the promotion with his last win over Alessandro Costa coming via violent KO. Kai Kara-France is definitely the toughest fighter Albazi has ever faced, though.
Also on the card: a women’s bantamweight bout between Miesha Tate and Mayra Bueno Silva, and a lightweight scrap between Jim Miller and Ludovit Klein. It’s unclear at this point whether former LFA champion Brendan Allen will still be competing at the event.