Outside Source
Kai Kara-France is taking a hiatus from MMA. | Getty/UFC
Kai Kara-France mysteriously disappeared from the UFC flyweight rankings after the latest update.
The Uncrowned’s Ariel Helwani contacted Kara-France’s team, who explained why he has been dropped from the rankings. The Kiwi wants to take a hiatus of at least a year to pursue other interests unrelated to fighting. Kara-France informed the UFC of his plans and exited the drug testing pool. The 32-year-old is not eligible to be ranked as a result of his absence from the drug-testing pool. Kara-France’s team also clarified that he has not been released from the UFC.
Advertisement
Known for his unusual knockout power at 125 pounds, Kara-France (25-12) has now dropped three of his last four. “Don’t Blink” most recently suffered a submission loss against Alexandre Pantoja in a title bid this past June.
Cultural Pursuits
“He informed the UFC he would be taking the year off and that there are other things he wants to do. He is not retiring necessarily, but he is taking a break, he is taking at least a year off,” Helwani said. “He wants to get into some cultural things, some things that have nothing to do with fighting. He’s very spiritual, obviously, we’ve seen him do things for his culture, for his heritage, for his people, for his country. And he’s taken this break, as a result, removed himself from the testing pool. As a result he is out of the rankings. He is not released, but he’s not eligible to be ranked until he tells them that he is coming back and goes back to the pool.”
I did reach out to Kai Kara-France‘s team, and they confirmed that, yes, he is no longer in the rankings.
They told me that he informed the UFC he would be taking the year off to focus on other things. He is not retiring necessarily, but he is taking a break.
He has not been… pic.twitter.com/aCxr0Wxblc
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 18, 2025
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
Help support MMACrazies.com when you shop Amazon by starting your online Amazon shopping at MMACrazies.com/recommends/amazon. You are not charged extra, but we receive a small and very helpful commission on everything you purchase. Thanks for thinking of us every time you shop at Amazon.
