Gustavo Falciroli returns against Kai Kara-France in AFC bantamweight tournament

Cage Fighting Championship bantamweight title holder Gustavo Falciroli will make his long awaited return at Australian Fighting Championship 7.

Falciroli (13-4-2) is set to face Kiwi fighter Kai Kara- France (8-3) in the opening round of the promotion’s 62 kilogram tournament at the event, which will take place on December 14 at the Melbourne Pavilion. 

Falciroli, 30, has remained on the sidelines since dropping a unanimous points decision to current One FC and Dream bantamweight champion Bibiano Fernandes at One FC 5 back in mid-2012. The loss followed a dream One FC debut for the third degree BJJ black belt, in which he submitted Korea’s Soo Chul Kim with a first round rear-naked choke at One FC 2.

The Perth based fighter unanimously outpointed newly signed UFC fighter Richie Vaculik in 2010 to become the first CFC bantamweight champion, a title he later defended against American Nick Honstein in late 2011.

Twenty year-old Kara-France will ride a three fight win streak into what will be his Australian debut at AFC 7. Since joining Phuket’s Tiger Muay Thai gym earlier in the year, the Auckland born fighter has spent the majority of his career fighting in Asia, most notably in Legend FC.

In his last outing, Kara-France scored a first round submission win over Chinese fighter Wu Tieyin at the Fight for Peace event, held last month in Manila. He outpointed Indonesian prospect Yudi Sanda prior to that, and knocked out Ho Jun Kim at Pro FC 8 in Taiwan to kick off his three fight undefeated run.

Also announced for the promotion’s bantamweight tournament, Olympic Judoka Ivo Dos Santos (2-1) will be looking to bounce back when he faces the undefeated Jordan Lucas (3-0) at the show. At AFC 5, Dos Santos was stopped with strikes by Rory O’Connell after eating a solid knee. Jordan Lucas also fought at AFC 5 where he outpointed Joel Fisher.

As previously announced for the main event, Steve Kennedy and Manny Rodriguez will clash for the AFC middleweight title.

Updated Fight Card:

• Steve Kennedy vs Manuel Rodriguez (Middleweight Title Fight)
  
• Dean Purdon vs Peter Davenport
• Callan Potter vs Troy Resic
• Alex Volkanovski vs Luke Catubig
• David Gibb vs Chris Birch

Bantamweight Tournament (62kg):

• Gustavo Falciroli vs Kai Kara- France
• Ivo Dos Santos vs Jordan Lucas