Alexandre Pantoja compares Kai Kara-France to Mike Tyson ahead of UFC 317 title clash: "That's a good challenge"

UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja is set to defend his belt a fourth straight time at UFC 317 on June 28. Coming off a strong submission win over Kai Asakura late last year, 'The Cannibal' is set to face divisional KO artist Kai Kara-France.

Kara-France is known for his swift KO power, earning him the moniker 'Don't Blink'. With nearly all of his knockout wins coming in the first round, it's quite easy to compare the Kiwi powerhouse to boxing legend Mike Tyson. Even Alexandre Pantoja is comparing his upcoming opponent to the iconic 'Iron' Mike.

Pantoja said in an interview with MMA Junkie:

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"It's kill or die. I fight with my soul every time and that's why everyone stops to watch my fights. I have the opportunity to do it one more time with Kai Kara-France. The guy with the powerful hands. I feel Kai-Kara France is like a Mike Tyson."

He continued:

"I'm going to fight with someone who can knock me down and that makes me pay a lot of attention to his hands. That's a good challenge. I need challengers to train, I need challengers to live."

Alexandre Pantoja says he needs to be Muhammad Ali to beat Kai Kara-France's Mike Tyson

If he compared Kara-France to Mike Tyson, then Alexandre Pantoja sees himself becoming Muhammad Ali. The Brazilian flyweight champ doesn't see himself fighting fire with fire. To him, he needs to act as a matador and use his movement and footwork to outsmart the bull and hit him where he doesn't see it.

In the aforementioned interview, Pantoja said:

"If I see him like Mike Tyson, maybe I need to be more like Muhammad Ali. I need movement. But if he tries to hit me, I have a very good chin. I've proved that many times. I don't want to prove that a lot. I want to move my head more. That's something I've really worked on. But I have strong hands, too, and that's going to be an amazing opportunity to prove to everyone that I have strong hands."

Not a lot of men are willing to fight Kai Kara-France standing up. But Alexandre Pantoja is confident he can take the Kiwi on, considering they've already fought each other at The Ultimate Fighter house in 2016. Pantoja used the threat of the takedown to keep Kara-France tentative with his strikes - ultimately earning him the unanimous decision win.

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Edited by Tejas Rathi