Kai Kara-France has been forced out of his fight against Manel Kape at UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia on 9th September after suffering a concussion in training.
“Unfortunately, I’ve had to withdraw from my next fight in Sydney, Australia at UFC 293,” Kara-France wrote yesterday. “I suffered a concussion over the weekend in training. I’ve been speaking to my coaches, my team, and my family, they all think it’s the right decision to put my health first.
“I just want to say sorry to all the friends and family that bought tickets, flights, accommodation. All of the fans that were excited to fight live. I’m gutted I won’t be a part of this card. It’s been a tough week with my second son being born as well as me pulling out of this fight. Mixed emotions. Frustrated. But I’ve just got to focus on the positives and just spend time with my loved ones. I appreciate the ongoing support and we’ll be back soon. Much love.”
The UFC have already brought in a new opponent for Kape, who will now fight the debuting Felipe dos Santos on three weeks notice to stay on the card.
The 22-year-old dos Santos arrives from the LFA promotion with an undefeated 7-0 record and had been scheduled to compete on the new season of the Contender Series this week before being handed this opportunity instead.
Needless to say this is a big step up in competition for the newcomer, with the 29-year-old Kape currently being on a three-fight winning streak that’s taken him to No.10 in the flyweight rankings.
Kape vs. dos Santos appears on a UFC 293 card that will be headlined by middleweight champion Israel Adesanya’s latest title defense against Sean Strickland, while Tai Tuivasa also fights Alexander Volkov on the main card.
