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Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff Writer
A highly ranked flyweight matchup between Kai Kara-France and Amir Albazi will now headline UFC Fight Night on June 3, both fighters announced via social media.
The event, which will take place at the UFC’s Apex in Las Vegas, was originally headlined by a middleweight fight between Jack Hermansson and Brendan Allen, but Hermansson was forced to withdraw because of injury.
Kara-France (24-10), of New Zealand, is looking to reset his title ambitions, after coming up short in an interim title fight against current champion Brandon Moreno in July. That loss ended a three-fight win streak for Kara-France.
Albazi (16-1) is a surging 125-pound contender. Born in Iraq and now fighting out of Las Vegas, Albazi is 4-0 in the UFC with three finishes, including two in the first round.
UFC rankings have Kara-France and Albazi the Nos. 3 and 7 flyweights in the division, respectively.
Moreno (21-6-2) is scheduled to defend his title against Alexandre Pantoja (25-5) at UFC 290 in July. The winner of this June 3 matchup could fit into title contention before the end of the year, depending on results.