kai-kara-france-celebrate.jpg
Getty Images

Cody Garbrandt's UFC flyweight debut resulted in a huge knockout. Unfortunately, Garbrandt was on the receiving end of Kai Kara-France's power. Kara-France walloped on Garbrandt en route to a first-round TKO on the main card of UFC 269 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Garbrandt, the former UFC bantamweight champion, looked to cut ahead of UFC flyweight contenders with a win over Kara-France (No. 6). The Kiwi intended on punching his ticket to a title shot at the expense of Garbrandt's name value. Kara-France badly dropped Garbrandt twice at the halfway mark of Round 1. Garbrandt scored a brief takedown that delayed his demise, but Kara-France would not be denied. The City Kickboxing fighter forced Herb Dean's hand with another big knockdown to earn a TKO win at 3:21 of the first round.

"I told you I was going to answer a lot of questions tonight and that's what I did. I'm the best in the world," Kara-France said. "Taking out a former champion puts me right in line for a title shot. I'll be watching Brandon Moreno and [Deiveson] Figueiredo. I want the winner of that fight. 2022, you'll be seeing the new flyweight champion right here."

Garbrandt (12-5) appears to be a worn-down shell of the young fighter who outclassed Dominick Cruz en route to winning the UFC bantamweight championship in December 2016. "No Love" has had next to no success since that fight, going from a 10-0 pro record to 1-5 in his last six fights. Four of those five losses ended via knockout or TKO in the first two rounds.

Kara-France (23-9, 1 NC) is back on a winning streak with consecutive finishes of Garbrandt and Rogério Bontorin. The 28-year-old is far better poised for a UFC title shot than he was this time last year, coming off a submission loss to Brandon Royval that capped off a 2-2 run for the New Zealander. He improves to 6-2 overall in the UFC.

Can't get enough boxing and MMA? Get the latest in the world of combat sports from two of the best in the business. Subscribe to Morning Kombat with Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell for the best analysis and in-depth news, including instant analysis of UFC 269 at the conclusion of the event.