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Kai Kara-France

Flyweight · REAL v1.0 (registered) #8; v1.1 (shadow) #8

Descriptive profile. The resume rank is what has been earned; these statistics are context, not a prediction. A test on Oct 20, 2026 found that career statistics add nothing reliable to age, layoff and experience as predictors of the next result (experiments/REGISTER.md, EXP-2026-10-20-14).

Weight band 8-10: the 10th to 90th percentile of his position across weight vectors drawn near the 70/30 weights. Rating 1,592, deviation 132: measured from 13 UFC bouts; a one-bout newcomer sits near 290.

Age 33 (born 1993-03-26) · Height 5 ft 4 in (163 cm) · Reach 69 in (175 cm) · Stance Orthodox · 491 days since last bout (2025-06-28) · Last five 2-3 · Streak L1

Why he is ranked here

Rating 1,592 is the division's 9th highest of 49 board fighters after an inactivity penalty of 36 points for 491 days without a bout; the ledger stands at +3.1 (+3.0 from quality wins, +0.1 from close losses to top-5 fighters; losses count for three years); 5 quality wins in 15 years, 4 over top-10 opponents, which makes him entrenched; form penalty 0.15 for a 2-3 last five. Score +0.20 = +0.16 (rating term, 70% weight) +0.19 (ledger term, 30% weight) -0.15 (form penalty); score order put him at #8.

TermValueDetail
Score+0.2070% rating term + 30% ledger term - form penalty
Rating term+0.16resume rating 1,592 (raw 1,628 less inactivity penalty 36), scaled against the division's interdecile range
Ledger term+0.19quality ledger +3.1: +3.0 QW +0.1 proof -0.0 blowout -0.0 weak
Form penalty0.15last five 2-3
Quality wins, 15 years54 over top-10 opponents, 5 over top-15; entrenched
Placementscore order #8v1.0 (registered)
Shadow board v1.1#8score +0.23; score order #8

Rules, weights and worked examples: methodology.

Last ten bouts

DateEventOpponentOpp. official rankResultMethodRoundModel p
2025-06-28UFC 317: Topuria vs. Oliveira (title)Alexandre PantojaCLsubmission3 (1:55)42%
2024-08-17UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. AdesanyaSteve Erceg#7WKO/TKO1 (4:04)53%
2023-06-03UFC Fight Night: Kara-France vs. AlbaziAmir Albazi#7Lsplit decision5 (5:00)49%
2022-07-30UFC 277: Pena vs. Nunes 2 (title)Brandon Moreno#1LKO/TKO3 (4:34)43%
2022-03-26UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. DaukausAskar Askarov#2Wunanimous decision3 (5:00)40%
2021-12-11UFC 269: Oliveira vs. PoirierCody Garbrandt#7WKO/TKO1 (3:21)33%
2021-03-06UFC 259: Blachowicz vs. AdesanyaRogerio Bontorin#8WKO/TKO1 (4:55)50%
2020-09-26UFC 253: Adesanya vs. CostaBrandon Royval#9Lsubmission2 (0:48)57%
2020-02-22UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. HookerTyson NamunrankedWunanimous decision3 (5:00)64%
2019-12-14UFC 245: Usman vs. CovingtonBrandon Moreno#5Lunanimous decision3 (5:00)57%

Opp. official rank = the UFC media-panel rank of the opponent on the date (C champion, #1 to #15, unranked; n/a before Feb 2013 or where no official board existed). Model p = the predictive model's pre-fight win chance for him (frozen performance-adjusted Elo; bouts before 2020 were in its tuning sample). Linked opponents have a profile.

Career statistics

Through 2026-10-31, UFC bouts only. Percentile = share of the 49 board fighters at Flyweight at or below this value; high is a position in the division, not a verdict.

Output
Significant strikes landed per minute4.46(73rd percentile at Flyweight)
Significant strike accuracy40%(22nd percentile at Flyweight)
Knockdowns scored per 15 minutes0.75(88th percentile at Flyweight)
Share of wins by finish38%(44th percentile at Flyweight)
Defence and damage
Significant strikes absorbed per minute3.24(45th percentile at Flyweight)
Significant strike defence64%(96th percentile at Flyweight)
Knockdowns suffered per 15 minutes0.38(78th percentile at Flyweight)
Significant strikes absorbed, career517(84th percentile at Flyweight)
KO/TKO losses1 (last 2022-07-30, 1,555 days ago)(84th percentile at Flyweight)
Submission losses2(90th percentile at Flyweight)
KO/TKO losses per bout over 10 years, each weighted down by the finisher's danger0.039(63rd percentile at Flyweight)
Grappling
Takedowns landed per 15 minutes0.56(22nd percentile at Flyweight)
Takedown defence84%(91st percentile at Flyweight)
Share of cage time in control9%(27th percentile at Flyweight)
Share of significant strikes landed in the clinch or on the ground14%(35th percentile at Flyweight)
Stylestriker (1.9 takedown attempts per 15 min; 9% control)
Career stage
Age33.6(78th percentile at Flyweight)
Age at UFC debut25.7(33rd percentile at Flyweight)
Years since UFC debut7.9(86th percentile at Flyweight)
UFC bouts13(86th percentile at Flyweight)
Cage time, minutes160(88th percentile at Flyweight)
Bouts per year, last three years0.7(4th percentile at Flyweight)
Days since last bout491(98th percentile at Flyweight)

Board position since Oct 2023

C24681020252026Oct 2023Oct 20262023-10-06: #2, Flyweight2023-10-13: #2, Flyweight2023-10-20: #2, Flyweight2023-11-03: #3, Flyweight2023-11-10: #3, Flyweight2023-11-17: #3, Flyweight2023-12-01: #6, Flyweight2023-12-08: #6, Flyweight2023-12-15: #7, Flyweight2024-01-12: #6, Flyweight2024-01-19: #6, Flyweight2024-02-02: #6, Flyweight2024-02-09: #6, Flyweight2024-02-16: #6, Flyweight2024-02-23: #6, Flyweight2024-03-01: #7, Flyweight2024-03-08: #7, Flyweight2024-03-15: #7, Flyweight2024-03-22: #7, Flyweight2024-03-29: #7, Flyweight2024-04-05: #7, Flyweight2024-04-12: #7, Flyweight2024-04-26: #6, Flyweight2024-05-03: #6, Flyweight2024-05-10: #6, Flyweight2024-05-17: #6, Flyweight2024-05-31: #6, Flyweight2024-06-07: #5, Flyweight2024-06-14: #5, Flyweight2024-06-21: #5, Flyweight2024-06-28: #5, Flyweight2024-07-12: #5, Flyweight2024-07-19: #6, Flyweight2024-07-26: #6, Flyweight2024-08-02: #5, Flyweight2024-08-09: #5, Flyweight2024-08-16: #5, Flyweight2024-08-23: #5, Flyweight2024-09-06: #5, Flyweight2024-09-13: #5, Flyweight2024-09-27: #5, Flyweight2024-10-04: #5, Flyweight2024-10-11: #5, Flyweight2024-10-18: #5, Flyweight2024-10-25: #5, Flyweight2024-11-01: #5, Flyweight2024-11-08: #5, Flyweight2024-11-15: #5, Flyweight2024-11-22: #5, Flyweight2024-12-06: #6, Flyweight2024-12-13: #5, Flyweight2025-01-10: #5, Flyweight2025-01-17: #5, Flyweight2025-01-31: #5, Flyweight2025-02-07: #5, Flyweight2025-02-14: #5, Flyweight2025-02-21: #5, Flyweight2025-02-28: #5, Flyweight2025-03-07: #6, Flyweight2025-03-14: #6, Flyweight2025-03-21: #5, Flyweight2025-03-28: #6, Flyweight2025-04-04: #6, Flyweight2025-04-11: #6, Flyweight2025-04-25: #6, Flyweight2025-05-02: #6, Flyweight2025-05-09: #6, Flyweight2025-05-16: #6, Flyweight2025-05-30: #6, Flyweight2025-06-06: #6, Flyweight2025-06-13: #6, Flyweight2025-06-20: #6, Flyweight2025-06-27: #6, Flyweight2025-07-11: #7, Flyweight2025-07-18: #7, Flyweight2025-07-25: #7, Flyweight2025-08-01: #7, Flyweight2025-08-08: #7, Flyweight2025-08-15: #7, Flyweight2025-08-22: #7, Flyweight2025-09-05: #7, Flyweight2025-09-12: #7, Flyweight2025-09-26: #7, Flyweight2025-10-03: #7, Flyweight2025-10-10: #7, Flyweight2025-10-17: #7, Flyweight2025-10-24: #7, Flyweight2025-10-31: #7, Flyweight2025-11-07: #7, Flyweight2025-11-14: #7, Flyweight2025-11-21: #7, Flyweight2025-12-05: #8, Flyweight2025-12-12: #9, Flyweight2026-01-23: #6, Flyweight2026-01-30: #6, Flyweight2026-02-06: #6, Flyweight2026-02-20: #6, Flyweight2026-02-27: #6, Flyweight2026-03-06: #7, Flyweight2026-03-13: #7, Flyweight2026-03-20: #7, Flyweight2026-03-27: #7, Flyweight2026-04-03: #7, Flyweight2026-04-10: #7, Flyweight2026-04-17: #7, Flyweight2026-04-24: #7, Flyweight2026-05-01: #7, Flyweight2026-05-08: #7, Flyweight2026-05-15: #7, Flyweight2026-05-29: #7, Flyweight2026-06-05: #6, Flyweight2026-06-13: #6, Flyweight2026-06-19: #6, Flyweight2026-06-26: #6, Flyweight2026-07-10: #7, Flyweight2026-07-17: #8, Flyweight2026-07-24: #8, Flyweight2026-07-31: #8, Flyweight2026-08-07: #8, Flyweight2026-08-14: #8, Flyweight2026-08-21: #8, Flyweight2026-08-28: #8, Flyweight2026-09-04: #8, Flyweight2026-09-11: #8, Flyweight2026-09-18: #8, Flyweight2026-09-25: #9, Flyweight2026-09-26: #9, Flyweight2026-10-03: #9, Flyweight2026-10-10: #9, Flyweight2026-10-17: #9, Flyweight2026-10-24: #8, Flyweight2026-10-31: #8, Flyweight#8

Position on the registered v1.0 board at each weekly snapshot (C = title holder or reserved, drawn at the top; lower is better).

Predictive rating by bout

1,5001,5501,6001,6501,70020212022202320242025Dec 2018Oct 20262018-12-01: 1,565 (W vs Elias Garcia)2019-02-09: 1,551 (W vs Raulian Paiva)2019-08-31: 1,581 (W vs Mark De La Rosa)2019-12-14: 1,544 (L vs Brandon Moreno)2020-02-22: 1,564 (W vs Tyson Nam)2020-09-26: 1,503 (L vs Brandon Royval)2021-03-06: 1,518 (W vs Rogerio Bontorin)2021-12-11: 1,602 (W vs Cody Garbrandt)2022-03-26: 1,632 (W vs Askar Askarov)2022-07-30: 1,627 (L vs Brandon Moreno)2023-06-03: 1,627 (L vs Amir Albazi)2024-08-17: 1,672 (W vs Steve Erceg)2025-06-28: 1,651 (L vs Alexandre Pantoja)1,651

Rating after each UFC bout from the frozen predictive model (performance-adjusted Elo, data/processed/elo_history.csv; a debut starts at 1,500). The resume rating's history is not stored, so this is the predictive line, which is a different number from the resume rating in the header.

Trajectory

Recent performances run about 32 points behind the rating: fighters this age typically run 28 points behind their rating, and his own recent results track that.

ComponentPointsMeaning
Age component-28what fighters aged 33.6 typically run relative to their rating (population curve, all UFC bouts since 2011)
Own recent results-4his recency-weighted mean and trend over 13 bouts, shrunk toward zero; trend -1 points a year
Combined-32the rating's likely distance from his current performance level, in rating points
Readingbehind ratingahead of, in line with (within 30 points), or behind the rating

Performance relative to the rating, by age

-1.0-0.5+0.0+0.5+1.025262728293031323334352018-12-01 (age 25.7): W vs Elias Garcia, residual +0.422019-02-09 (age 25.9): W vs Raulian Paiva, residual -0.082019-08-31 (age 26.4): W vs Mark De La Rosa, residual +0.212019-12-14 (age 26.7): L vs Brandon Moreno, residual -0.162020-02-22 (age 26.9): W vs Tyson Nam, residual +0.192020-09-26 (age 27.5): L vs Brandon Royval, residual -0.582021-03-06 (age 27.9): W vs Rogerio Bontorin, residual +0.462021-12-11 (age 28.7): W vs Cody Garbrandt, residual +0.592022-03-26 (age 29.0): W vs Askar Askarov, residual +0.132022-07-30 (age 29.3): L vs Brandon Moreno, residual -0.422023-06-03 (age 30.2): L vs Amir Albazi, residual +0.002024-08-17 (age 31.4): W vs Steve Erceg, residual +0.422025-06-28 (age 32.3): L vs Alexandre Pantoja, residual -0.36-0.05

Each dot is one decided UFC bout at his age then: the performance score minus the rating's expectation, on the score's own scale from -1 to +1 (filled = win, hollow = loss; above zero is better than the rating implied; a finish as a slight favourite is about +0.45). The dashed line is the population curve for all fighters; the solid line is this fighter's own fitted level and trend as of the data date, weighted toward recent bouts. One unit sustained over many bouts corresponds to about 695 rating points; a single bout's residual is noisy.

Held-out evidence (walk-forward 2016 to 2026, EXP-2026-10-21-01): the age curve held in every test year; the individual component is a weak signal (correlation 0.06 with the next bout's residual; among fighters aged 33 or over, the lowest predicted quartile won 38% of next bouts against 53% expected, the highest 48% against 52%) and adds nothing to bout prediction beyond the shadow model. No board uses any of it: the rankings answer who has earned the place, not who wins next (EXP-2026-10-20-09). Method: src/mmalab/decline.py; settings: config/decline.yaml (expectation from the resume rating; one unit of residual is about 695 rating points).

Context flags

Descriptive only. Each line is a population fact about fighters like him, not a forecast for him; the register entries hold the measurements.

REAL v1.0 (registered method) · build c166ee8 · data through 2026-10-31 · page built 2026-11-06 · changelog. Independent fan research project built on public UFCStats data. Not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by UFC, Zuffa, LLC, TKO Group Holdings, or any athlete. All trademarks belong to their owners and are used only to identify athletes and events.