Alexandre Pantoja remains the king of the UFC flyweight division, delivering yet another commanding performance in his latest title defense.

In the co-main event of UFC 317 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Pantoja (30-5 MMA, 14-3 UFC) faced a familiar foe in Kai Kara-France (25-12 MMA, 8-5 UFC), a fighter he previously defeated during Season 24 of The Ultimate Fighter. The rematch followed a similar script, as Pantoja controlled the action from start to finish, ultimately submitting Kara-France with a rear-naked choke at 1:55 of Round 3.

From the opening bell, Pantoja wasted no time establishing control. After a brief glove touch, he surged forward with pressure, landing strikes before securing an early takedown. He swiftly transitioned to Kara-France’s back, locking in a tight body triangle and controlling the rest of the round while mixing in submission attempts and heavy ground-and-pound.

Round 2 saw a brief shift to the feet, but even there, Pantoja held the edge. He landed the cleaner shots in early striking exchanges before closing the distance again with a flurry that led to another takedown. Although Kara-France was able to get back to his feet, he struggled to generate any meaningful offense as Pantoja continued to dictate the pace.

In the third and final round, Pantoja resumed his relentless grappling attack, taking Kara-France down and once again securing back control. With ample time to work, he patiently set up the rear-naked choke, eventually sinking it in and forcing the tap marking another clinical finish by the flyweight champion.

Following the win, rising contender Joshua Van entered the octagon to face off with Pantoja, setting the stage for the next title fight. Van had just defeated former title challenger Brandon Royval in a thrilling bout many are already calling a Fight of the Year candidate.

“He’s a humble guy. He deserves to fight for the title next,” Pantoja told Joe Rogan during his post-fight interview.

The victory marks Pantoja’s fourth successful title defense and extends his win streak to eight. Remarkably, half of those wins have come via rear-naked choke, showcasing his continued dominance in the grappling department.

For Kara-France, it’s another tough setback in his pursuit of UFC gold. The New Zealander previously fell short in his bid for the interim title against Brandon Moreno at UFC 277, also losing via third-round stoppage. Since then, he split a pair of fights dropping a razor-thin split decision to Amir Albazi before earning a first-round knockout over Steve Erceg that propelled him back into title contention.

But once again, it was Pantoja who stood tall the undisputed flyweight king with no signs of slowing down.

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