After 12 years and 33 professional MMA fights, Kiwi Kai Kara-France has his clearest roadmap yet to fulfilling his lifelong dream of becoming a UFC world champion.
At the UFC Fight Night at Columbus, Ohio on March 27(NZ time), the Aucklander will square off with Askar Askarov in a flyweight contender eliminator, where the winner will likely advance to become the next challenger to the throne.
'Don't Blink' earned that right courtesy of his dismantling of Cody Garbrandt at UFC 269 in December, where he lived up to his moniker and captured the attention of the MMA world with a blitzkrieg first-round knockout.
His efforts against the highly favoured ex-bantamweight king caught the attention of champion Deiveson Figueiredo, who immediately laid the gauntlet down to Kara-France for his next defence, after reclaiming his belt in his trilogy fight against Brandon Moreno in January.
Reports this week now suggest Figureido will square off with Moreno for a fourth time in July, meaning Kara-France would await the winner of that contest should he get past Askarov next week.
The 28-year-old has earned a reputation as appointment viewing for his now trademark, high-paced gun fights, although he's struggled to string together the consistent string of results needed to unlock the realm of title contention.
But with two consecutive first-round finishes to his name, one more victory would cement Kara-France's status as the rightful next contender, and the world is taking notice.
"People are really catching on now," Kara-France tells Newshub. "They're like, 'Who's this kid coming out of New Zealand? We're going to watch him'.
"But you know, welcome to the party - now it's my time. Having the champ call me out, you know, it's good to be in the conversation, but it will happen. It's all right there."
As he often does, the sixth-ranked Kara-France will enter his co-main event bout against Askarov as the underdog. The dangerous Russian grappling expert is undefeated through 15 professional fights, four of those in the UFC.
He pushed Moreno to a split-decision draw in the Mexican's hometown back in late 2019 and has reeled off three comprehensive unanimous decision wins since.
But when it comes to beating the odds, Kara-France has been doing it - quite literally - his whole life.
"At birth, the umbilical cord was wrapped around my neck and I was pretty much blue in the face," he explains. "My Mum thought I was dead, but came back to life and fell straight out of the womb.
"That's what it means to me to be a fighter. Fighting iis just in me."
It exemplifies the kind of mentality embraced by Kara-France and his Engage and City Kickboxing cohorts Israel Adesanya, Alex Volkanovski, Carlos Ulberg, and Brad Riddell - who are all involved in Australasian combat apparel company's recent 'We Are All Fighters' campaign.
"The foundation was kind of just helping each other out but to see everyone's careers and businesses blossom to what they are now, it's just cool to see everyone that started together being all at the top.
"Being a fighter, a father, a brother, a son, that gives me purpose and that gives me strength. And when I go into [the Octagon], it's a switch."
Of course, Kara-France is experienced enough to realise he can't get ahead of himself, with the formidable challenge of Askarov to negotiate before any thought of a title shot.
But the heat is all on Askarov, Kara-France insists, claiming the Russian will need more than slick grappling to get past him.
"I've had a quick turnaround with Askarov, who has had nearly over a year off through injuries, so the pressure is on him. He hasn't had a finish in the UFC either.
"Coming off two knockouts back to back, I'm the one to watch, and he's got a fight in front of him.
"If he wants to just wrestle me, I welcome it. Try to get me to the ground. And then once you get me there, you've got to keep me there. Once I get back on my feet, you're back in my world.
"I'm not going to stop until I hurt him and eventually put him away. I'm coming in with bad intentions and I'm going to take him out."
And if he's successful getting past Askarov, Kara-France wants to reward action-starved Kiwi fight fans and the sacrifices made by his fellow NZ-based fighters by bringing his title fight down under.
President Dana White has previously dismissed the idea due to quarantine complications. But with MIQ set to be a thing of the past, Kara-France says the time is right to hold the first UFC event on Aotearoa shores since February 2020, which took place merely a few weeks before the sports world was turned on its head by the pandemic.
"Let's do it down here," he says. "For two years we've had to go to America, the other side of the world just to compete.
"Now it's time to bring the show back to this side of the world and give everyone something positive to look forward to, after so many restrictions and lockdowns in New Zealand and Australia.
"We could definitely just put on a City Kickboxing against the world card and sell out stadiums.
"That's how I'm visualising it in my head, how things are going to happen - winning the title back home."
