When Kai Kara-France (25-11) takes on Alexandre Pantoja (29-5) for the flyweight title at UFC 317 in Las Vegas this weekend, he’ll have the New Zealand Warriors in his corner.
Not literally, of course, as the Warriors will be recovering following their Saturday afternoon clash with the Broncos in Brisbane, but figuratively, the NRL team will be right behind him.
For the past three years, Kara-France has worked as a wrestling coach for the Auckland-based outfit, sharing his insights from a career in the world of mixed martial arts.
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It’s not merely a matter of the 32-year-old having expertise in the field, for him, it’s a labour of love.
Kara-France and his family are all Warriors mad.
In 2011, he travelled to Sydney alongside his father and brother to support the team in the ultimately unsuccessful grand final against Manly.
Now, he says, working alongside legends he grew up watching and helping his favourite team strive for an elusive premiership is a “pinch me” feeling.
“Webby brought me on board three years ago, just to get an edge and help the boys out with stuff that I’ve learned over the years through martial arts that transfer to rugby league,” Kara-France told Sporting News from Las Vegas this week.
“It started as a wrestling coach but I’ve taken more of a mentor role, just to instil confidence into the boys, help out with some wisdom and stuff that I’ve had to deal with in my career.
“It’s a great relationship, I’m really close with a lot of them, and the coach. It’s cool that I get to cross codes and go into new territory for an MMA fighter.
“My whole family is a footy family. I grew up watching this team so [it’s come] full circle.
“Coaching alongside Stacey Jones, Shaun Johnson, Monty Betham and so many guys I looked up to growing up, and to be a part of it now, it is pretty cool.”
When his own fight schedule permits, Kara-France can often be seen joining in with the team during pre-season drills and fitness tests.
“I do that because I want to get the buy-in from the boys, so I do what they do on the field and then on the mats, they can buy into what I’m teaching and trying to get across,” he explains.
“There’s so many things that you need to do, not just talk about. If I’m willing to put myself in uncomfortable positions that they players are used to, they’ll do the same on the mats.”
Kara-France typically takes the team through a fortnightly session, including one shortly before he flew out to Las Vegas for his fight with the Brazilian, who is unbeaten in his last seven and has defended the title three times.
The hard-hitting Kiwi’s road to a championship fight hasn’t been a smooth one - if he is to win the title, he’d make history as the fighter with the most professional losses prior becoming UFC champion.
“I’ve always been overlooked as the underdog but I never really shied away from a challenge, I fought the best guys and here we are, 15 years later, fighting for a world title in the fight Mecca in Las Vegas,” he said.
“My career has prepared me for these moments, I’ve felt it all, the good and the bad, the highs and the lows, but I know what I’m fighting for and I just picked myself up every time after a loss and got better.
“It built that character, it built resilience and it built this fire, this hunger that I have to keep going.
“To win this flyweight world title will just be the cherry on top of my career.”
And as for the gameplan, Kara-France is hoping his skills on the mat, those same skills he’s been passing onto the Warriors, will hold him in good stead against Pantoja.
“He will definitely look to shoot and get takedowns but fights start standing and he’s going to be starting in my world,” he said.
“I’ve just got that in my back pocket, I’ve got twelve knockouts in my career and I’ve got one of the best takedown defences in the UFC flyweight division.”
With the Warriors currently sitting in fourth, the presence of a UFC champion in their ranks could be just the boost they need to claim a long-awaited premiership.