Kiwi flyweight Kai Kara-France has a new opponent for his appearance at UFC 245 in Las Vegas in December.
Sergio Pettis has chosen to test his value on the open market, rather than recommitting to a multi-fight deal with the UFC, withdrawing from his scheduled bout against Kara-France.
Mexico's Brandon Moreno - a 15-5 fighter, who's fresh off a draw with Askar Askarov last month - will step in to take his place. Moreno is currently ranked seventh in the UFC's official flyweight standings.
"It's still a tough fight against a high-ranked opponent," Kara-France told Newshub. "That's we want.
"Ideally, I could be two fights away from a title shot."
Incidentally, Moreno fought Pettis in the headline act of the 2017 UFC Fight Night in Mexico, where he pushed him to the limit in a close decision loss.
"It's [Pettis'] loss," said Kara-France. "I've still got another fight and I'm really happy with the match-up."
Moreno is also a familiar face for Kara-France, as the two were both participants in the Season 24 of The Ultimate Fighter reality series back in 2014.
"I think he was the youngest in the house. I was pretty young back then, but he was about three years younger than me.
"He's a good fighter, but I'm not really concerned - it's just another person to me. As long as I get paid and get on the fights cards I want to, that's all that matters.
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