UFC 277: Brandon Moreno vs. Kai Kara-France Picks and Predictions

Kai Kara-France vs. Brandon Moreno

UFC: Saturday, July 30th at 10:00 PM ET

The Line: -- Kai Kara-France +185 / Brandon Moreno -225 Click Here for the Latest Odds

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Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France face off on Saturday in the co-main event for the flyweight interim title at UFC 277 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Moreno is ranked 1st in the division while Kara-France is ranked 2nd. These two fighters faced off back in 2019 and Moreno was able to win that fight by unanimous decision. 

Brandon Moreno comes into this fight with a 19-6-2 record overall and over his last three fights he has only one win. Each of the last three fights for Moreno came against Deiveson Figueiredo. In the last fight, he was outstruck 105-86, and that led to the unanimous decision loss. Moreno is averaging 3.54 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 3.31 significant strikes per minute. He is averaging 1.84 takedowns every 15 minutes and he is successful on 47 percent of his takedown attempts. He also stops 60 percent of his opponent's takedown attempts. Each of the last two wins by Moreno has been finish.

On the other side of this matchup is Kai Kara-France who sits with a 24-9 record overall but he has won three fights in a row. Kara-France’s last fight came against Askar Askarov in March of 2022 and he won that fight by unanimous decision. He was taken down twice in that fight, but outstruck Askarov 51-27 and that led to the victory. Kara-France is averaging 4.84 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 3.51 significant strikes per minute. Kara-France is averaging 0.43 takedowns every 15 minutes and he is successful on 21 percent of his takedown attempts. He is also stopping 86 percent of his takedown attempts every 15 minutes. 

In a 3 round fight it might be different, but in a five-round fight, I think the play is with Moreno. Kara-France usually has his best success early in fights, and the longer the fight goes on, the more gassed he’s going to be. Moreno has a higher fight IQ and he knows what it takes to become a champ. I expect Moreno to fight a really smart fight here and get the job done. Back Moreno by a decision to secure the victory. 

Shane’s Pick Brandon Moreno by Finish

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The pick in this article is the opinion of the writer, not a PickDawgz site consensus.

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