Las Vegas – UFC® returns to UFC APEX with a high stakes matchup in the flyweight division, as No. 3 ranked contender Kai Kara-France faces rising No. 7 Amir Albazi. Also on the card, No. 10 ranked bantamweight contender Mayra Bueno Silva battles women’s MMA pioneer and No. 11 ranked Miesha Tate.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: KARA-FRANCE vs. ALBAZI will take place Saturday, June 3 at UFC APEX in Las Vegas. The main card airs on ESPN, ESPN Deportes & ESPN+ (English and Spanish) starting at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT, with the prelims exclusively ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT.
Kara-France (24-10 1 NC, fighting out of Auckland, New Zealand) looks to cement himself as a title threat in the flyweight division in his UFC main event debut. A City Kickboxing product, Kara-France earned a shot at the 125-pound strap following victories over Cody Garbrandt, Rogerio Bontorin and Askar Askarov. He now intends to defend his spot in the rankings against Albazi in his first Octagon appearance of 2023.
Surging prospect Albazi (16-1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev. by way of Baghdad, Iraq) aims to make the most of the biggest opportunity of his MMA career by taking out Kara-France. Undefeated in the UFC, he has secured victories over Malcolm Gordon, Francisco Figueiredo and Alessando Costa. Albazi now plans to leave no doubt that he can compete with the best in the world and vault to the top of the flyweight ranks.
Silva (10-2-1, fighting out of Sao Paulo, Brazil) makes her second Octagon appearance of 2023 seeking another post-fight bonus. A submission specialist, Silva owns notable finishes over Lina Lansberg, Stephanie Egger and Mara Romero Borella. She now looks to add Tate’s legendary name to her resume and make a run towards the top of the division.
Former UFC bantamweight champion Tate (19-9, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) returns to the 135-pound division intending to make a statement. Among the top names in MMA, she holds wins over Holly Holm, Sara McMann and Liz Carmouche. Tate now is determined to get her hand raised once again by handing Silva her first loss in two years.
Additional bouts on the card include:
- An exciting featherweight bout sees No. 15 ranked contender Alex Caceres (20-13 1 NC, fighting out of Miami, Fla.) match up against Daniel Pineda (28-14 3 NC, fighting out of Houston, Texas)
- Lightweight veteran Jim Miller (35-17 1 NC, fighting out of Sparta, N.J.) returns against Ludovit Klein (19-4-1, fighting out of Nove Zamky, Slovakia)
- Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski (34-21 2 NC, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.) faces Don’Tale Mayes (9-5 1 NC, fighting out of Louisville, Ky.)
- No. 11 ranked flyweight Tim Elliott (19-12-1, fighting out of Lee’s Summit, Mo.) defends his spot in the rankings against Victor Altamirano (12-2, fighting out of Fort Worth, Texas by way of Mexico City, Mexico)
- Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos (23-7, fighting out of Parana, Brazil) and Abubakar Nurmagomedov (17-3-1, fighting out of Dagestan, Russia) clash at welterweight
- Philipe Lins (16-5, fighting out of Coconut Creek, FL by way of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil) and Maxim Grishin (32-9-2, fighting out of Moscow, Russia) collide in a light heavyweight bout
- Strawweight action sees Elise Reed (6-3, fighting out of Princeton, N.J.) lock horns with Jinh Yu Frey (11-8, fighting out of Arlington, Texas)
- Jamie Mullarkey (16-5, fighting out of Holgate, NSW, Australia) and Guram Kutateladze (12-3, fighting out of Stockholm, Sweden by way of Tbilisi, Georgia) meet in an early Fight of the Night contender at lightweight
- Bantamweights Da’Mon Blackshear (12-5-1, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.) and Luan Lacerda (12-2, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) look to steal the show
- Dana White’s Contender Series signee Karine Silva (15-4, fighting out of Curitiba, Parana, Brazil) looks to spoil the UFC debut of Ketlen Souza (13-3, fighting out of Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil) at flyweight
- John Castaneda (19-6, fighting out of Minneapolis, Minn.) and Mateus Mendonca (10-1, fighting out of Sao Paulo, Brazil) vie to return to the winner’s circle in a bantamweight tilt
Visit the UFC.com for information and content to support your UFC coverage. Please click here to apply for media credentials to the event.
###
About UFC®
UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization (MMA), with more than 700 million fans and 233 million social media followers. The organization produces more than 40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around the world, while broadcasting to over 900 million TV households across more than 170 countries. UFC’s active fighter roster features the world’s best MMA athletes representing more than 75 countries. The organization’s digital offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS®, one of the world’s leading streaming services for combat sports. UFC is owned by global sports and entertainment company Endeavor and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok: @UFC.
About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the industry-leading sports streaming service that offers fans in the U.S. thousands of live sports events, original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks and exclusive editorial content from dozens of ESPN writers and reporters. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown to more than 24.3 million subscribers. Fans sign up to ESPN+ for just $9.99 a month (or $99.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or on the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices).
About ESPN
ESPN, the world’s leading sports entertainment brand, features eight U.S. television networks, direct-to-consumer ESPN+, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, endeavors on every continent around the world, and more. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst.