MMA Preview – Kai Kara-France vs Mark De La Rosa at UFC Fight Night 157
THE FACTS
When is UFC Fight Night 157? Saturday 31st August, 2019 - 11:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC Fight Night 157? Shenzhen Universade Centre Arena, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
What channel is UFC Fight Night 157? BT Sport 2
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night 157? BT Sport subscribers can stream the fight online via the BT Sport website
For viewers in the United States, the event will be shown live on ESPN+ which can you sign up to here!
Are tickets still available for UFC Fight Night 157? https://www.ufc.com/tickets
THE STATISTICS
THE LOWDOWN
Two young guns in the flyweight division are desperate for a win and to keep the dissolving division on the map. Kai Kara-France and Mark De La Rosa have a lot of potential and talents worthy of being in the UFC.
One of the new breed of fighters from New Zealand, Kara-France has truly found his form in the last few years. He has only lost once in his last 13 fights and is on a seven-fight winning streak. He has won both of his UFC fights via decision – Elias Garcia on his debut and Raulin Paiva in his last fight.
De La Rosa arrived to the UFC unbeaten in nine fights but tasted the step-up in competition when he met Tim Elliot on his debut. He got submitted but bounced back with a submission of his own against Garcia and then a decision over Joby Sanchez. However, he is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Alex Perez.
THE PREDICTION
Both fighters are very well-rounded but Kara-France’s strengths lie in his striking and De La Rosa's in his grappling. So, De La Rosa’s best chance will be taking Kara-France to the floor and looking for a submission.
However, we have seen very little of his wrestling so far in the UFC and Kara-France has great takedown defence which is likely to keep the fight on the feet, where his power will take the fight away from De La Rosa.
Winner: Kara-France via Decision
Striking and grappling stats sourced via FightMetric.
