Kai Kara France vs. Amir Albazi Elevated to UFC on ESPN 45 Main Event

A flyweight showdown pitting Kai Kara France against Amir Albazi has been promoted to the UFC on ESPN 45 headliner.

Kara France announced the move on the "Who the Fook Are These Guys?” podcast, and it was later confirmed by MMAjunkie.com. UFC on ESPN 45 needed a new main event after Jack Hermansson withdrew from a proposed middleweight clash against Brendan Allen. Now Kara France and Albazi will have five rounds with which to work.

Kara France last appeared at UFC 277, where he suffered a third-round technical knockout loss to current flyweight king Brandon Moreno last July. He was supposed to face Alex Perez at UFC 284 but was forced to withdraw from the card due to injury.

Albazi, meanwhile, has lost just once in 17 professional outings. The Baghdad, Iraq, native has kicked off his promotional tenure with four straight triumphs, including a third-round KO of Alessandro Costa in his most recent appearance at UFC Fight Night 216.