Kai Kara-France earned a unanimous decision victory over Mark De La Rosa tonight at UFC Fight Night 157.
Round One:
Leg kick for Kara-France and De La Rosa throws punches. Another leg kick for Kara-France. Jab lands for De La Rosa. Flurry of punches from De La Rosa and then he goes in for a takedown. He moves around to the back and tries to bring him down, but for now his opponent stays up.
Kara-France on one knee now as he continues to defend. Back to his feet, but De La Rosa staying clinched to his back and lands a high knee.
Kara-France continuing to work hard to escape and then finally does not only that, but also turns into him and then lands a big slamming takedown.
De La Rosa able to get back to his feet though and they are back to striking range. Head kick attempt from De La Rosa but Kara-France ducks under it.
Hard right hand for Kara-France and then De la Rosa lands punches in return. Double up on the jab from De La Rosa and then a right hand behind it.
Head kick attempt from Kara-France is blocked. leg kick for Kara-France. Very nice entry for the takedown from De La Rosa, but Kara-France shows terrific defense and then gets him down briefly. slick work for him in the final seconds of the round.
Round Two:
Uppercut and a right combo for Kara-France. De La Rosa steps into an excellent right hand and it drops Kara-France.
Kara-France back to his feet and hanging on in there. Solid leg kick for Kara-France knocks De La Rosa down to the mat, but he gets up quickly.
Nice straight punch and left hook for Kara-France. De La Rosa still connecting too though. Body punch for Kara-France, but gets clipped with a counter hook.
Body kick for Kara-France. Head kick from him is blocked. jab lands for him. Solid overhand glances De La Rosa.
De La Rosa with a nice punch. Now a leg kick. Head kick attempt from Kara-France is blocked and then a cartwheel kick attempt. Spinning kick from De La Rosa misses.
Round Three:/h4>
Right hand for Kara-France again. Another right hand grazes the target this time. De La Rosa steps into a short flurry of punches as he tries to change the momentum of the fight.
One-two for Kara-France. Again with the straight right, but then De La Rosa lands a counter punch. Brief exchanges of punches in close.
De La Rosa charging forward with punches. Solid body kick for Kara-France. He tries to hide it but that hurt De La Rosa and he has to cover up as Kara-France ploughs forward with straight punches. Kara-France can’t put him away though and so he steps back and makes sure not to burn himself out.
Good body kick again for Kara-France. He lands to the leg too. Another lands and again. One more for good measure. Body punch for Kara-France and then another leg kick.
Final minute of the fight. Kara-France utilizing movement to stay out of range. De La Rosa tries for a head kick, but Kara-France ducks under it. Nice right hand for De La Rosa and then one from Kara-France.
Decision:
The judges are unanimous in their decision here – Kara-France gets the win (30-27 x2, 29-28).
