Gallery Kai Kara-France def. Mark De La Rosa at UFC on ESPN+ 15: Best photos view 18 images

There’s been a slight change of plans for Kai Kara-France’s next fight.

Initially scheduled to face Sergio Pettis at UFC 245, it appears Pettis will be testing free agency and no longer will be fighting in December. News of Pettis’ withdrawal first was reported by ESPN.

Kara-France (20-7 MMA, 3-0 UFC) now will face Brandon Moreno (15-5-1 MMA, 4-2-1 UFC), a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to MMA Junkie following a report from “NZ Herald” on Thursday. The person requested anonymity because the UFC has yet to make an official announcement.

UFC 245 takes place Dec. 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN 2 and UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

Kara-France is off to a 3-0 start in his UFC career and is looking to edge closer to the top of the flyweight rankings. He is coming off a unanimous decision win over Mark De La Rosa at UFC on ESPN+ 15 in August.

He wasn’t able to join his City Kickboxing teammates on the UFC 243 card in Melbourne, Australia, this week, but will look to continue the team’s momentum when he competes in the United States for the first time in his career.

Moreno got the call back to the UFC and fought to a rare split draw against Askar Askarov in his home country of Mexico at UFC on ESPN+ 17 in September. He will make a quick turnaround when he steps in to take on the surging Kara-France, looking to put a halt to his eight-fight winning streak.

With the addition to the card, UFC 245 now includes:

Champ Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington – for welterweight title

Champ Amanda Nunes vs. Germaine de Randamie – for women’s bantamweight title

Champ Max Holloway vs. Alexander Volkanovski – for featherweight title

Robbie Lawler vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio

Jessica Eye vs. Viviane Araujo

Matt Brown vs. Ben Saunders

Oskar Piechota vs. Punahele Soriano

Kai Kara-France vs. Brandon Moreno