Kiwi flyweight Kai Kara-France lost a hard-fought unanimous decision to Deep champion Tatsumitsu Wada on Thursday night’s Rizin Fighting – World GP 2016 card in Japan.
Kara-France was never going to be awarded the victory in the fight after failing to make weight by three pounds. Even with a victory on the night for the Kiwi, the fight would have been ruled a no contest.
Leg kicks were on the agenda for Wada throughout the clash as he landed thudding shots on the lower left leg of the Kiwi. Kara-France was dropped to the canvas on a number of occasions from the shots, and was eventually forced to switch stances to avoid further punishment from the Japanese fighter.
Kara-France had some late success in the opening frame, however, landing a number of clean shots to the head of Wada, dropping his opponent in the boxing exchanges and evening up the round in the process.
The damaged left leg of Kara-France continued to cause the Kiwi trouble going into the final frame and Wada was able to capitalise and take the fight to the canvas before taking the back of the Kiwi. Kara-France showed good resilience to see out the round.
The result of the fight, which was Kara-France’s first following his time on The Ultimate Fighter 24 series, snapped the 23 year-old’s five-fight win streak.
