“Don’t Blink” is hitting pause on his mixed martial arts (MMA) career — at least for now.
Earlier today, former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight title challenger Kai Kara-France was unexpectedly
removed from the Top 15 rankings, sparking online panic that he may have been suspended or even released by the promotion.
That’s not the case.
The 32-year-old contender is stepping away from the sport for at least a year and has voluntarily removed himself from the UFC’s drug-testing pool, which automatically disqualifies him from the rankings.
Ariel Helwani spoke with Kara-France’s team, who clarified the situation.
“He informed the UFC he would be taking the year off and that there are other things he wants to do,” Helwani reported. “He is not retiring necessarily, but he is taking a break — taking at least a year off. He wants to get into some cultural things, things that have nothing to do with fighting. He’s very spiritual, and we’ve seen him do things for his culture, his people, and his heritage. As a result he’s removed himself from the testing pool and he’s not eligible to be ranked until he notifies the UFC that he’s back.”
Kara-France (25-12) is coming off a dominant submission loss to champion Alexandre Pantoja in the co-main event of UFC 317 this past summer (watch highlights). Before that, he punched his ticket to a title shot by knocking out fellow contender Steve Erceg in the first round (watch highlights).
“Don’t Blink” has gone 1-3 in his last four outings, so a mental and physical reset may prove beneficial, especially with lingering concussion issues.
It’s not a goodbye — just a “see you later.”
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