Kai Kamaka III

Kamaka found early success with calf kicks before Riley dropped him with a right hand. Riley followed with knees and punches to force the stoppage at 3:03 of round one.

Key moments

• Kamaka landed early calf kicks.
• Riley dropped Kamaka with a right hand.
• Follow-up knees and punches produced the stoppage at 3:03.

Kamaka returned to the UFC after a four-year absence and scored a hard-fought split decision over debutant Dakota Hope in a lightweight contest. Hope pressed forward aggressively throughout with a Muay Thai-heavy attack, landing knees to the body and tight clinch elbows, but Kamaka absorbed the pressure, worked leg kicks, and took over in the third round as Hope faded. The judges scored it 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 in Kamaka's favour.

Key moments

• Hope caught Kamaka with a sharp knockdown in round one during a scramble, but Kamaka recovered and kept his feet
• Kamaka's sustained body work began to visibly slow Hope in round two, landing hooks to the ribs in the clinch
• Kamaka took control in round three, applying forward pressure and landing a clean elbow on the break as Hope's pace dropped
• Hope shot a late takedown in the final seconds of round three but Kamaka shook free before the horn

Kamaka closed out a patient three-round co-main event with a stoppage, finishing Michel da Cruz Lima via right hook KO at 4:48 of the final round. The fight went to the championship round before Kamaka landed the decisive punch to earn the finish and set up his return to the UFC. The knockout was described as a “huge KO” and demonstrated his finishing power at featherweight.

Key moments

• Kamaka controlled range early, using leg kicks and jabs to keep Lima at distance through the opening rounds
• Lima had moments of pressure in round two but Kamaka weathered the exchanges and returned fire with counter punches
• Kamaka landed a flush right hook in the closing minute of round three that put Lima down and prompted the stoppage at 4:48

Kamaka challenged Diego Brandão for the Tuff-N-Uff Featherweight Championship in a five-round main event that went the distance in a back-and-forth war. Both men had their moments across the full twenty-five minutes, but Brandão did just enough to retain the title on a split decision at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The fight was emotionally significant for Brandão, who won at the same venue where he triumphed on The Ultimate Fighter 14 years earlier.

Key moments

• Brandão opened with his signature pressure game, mixing body work with wide hooks to keep Kamaka on the back foot in rounds one and two
• Kamaka rallied in the middle rounds, using footwork and counters to edge the pace and steal momentum
• The championship rounds were closely contested, with both men visibly tired but continuing to exchange — the split cards reflected how competitive the bout truly was

Kamaka scored his second Tuff-N-Uff victory of 2025 with a unanimous decision win over Sitik Muduev in the co-main event of TNU 145, held during UFC International Fight Week at the Theatre at SAHARA Las Vegas. The three-round featherweight bout went the distance, with Kamaka controlling enough of the action to earn all three judges’ scorecards. The win moved him to 8-2 since his UFC release, with both losses coming via narrow split decisions.

Key moments

• Kamaka established his jab early and used it consistently to disrupt Muduev’s timing throughout the bout
• Kamaka's leg kick volume was a consistent theme — accumulating damage to Muduev’s lead leg across all three rounds
• Kamaka closed strong in round three to leave no doubt on the scorecards, earning the clean 30-27 or 29-28 nods

Kamaka delivered an impressive second-round TKO finish over Joshua “Wide Open” Weems at the Palms Casino Resort, stopping the bout with elbows from mount just 58 seconds into round two. The co-main event featherweight bout showcased Kamaka’s wrestling and ground-and-pound, with his grappling ultimately overwhelming Weems’ powerful striking game. The finish kickstarted an active 2025 campaign that would lead him to a title shot.

Key moments

• Kamaka secured a takedown in round two and immediately worked to mount, showing dominant positional grappling
• From full mount, Kamaka unloaded short punches and elbows that left Weems unable to defend, forcing the stoppage at 0:58
• The finish demonstrated Kamaka’s ability to end fights on the ground, a weapon that complemented his decision-grinding style

A razor-thin split-decision loss in the PFL featherweight semifinal, with a spot in the season final on the line. A spinning kick to the body late in the first gave Loughnane that round, and the last two stayed close — Kamaka went to fist-bump Loughnane after the 30-27 card was read, believing he'd lost.

Key moments

• A late spinning kick to the body handed Loughnane the opening round
• PFL featherweight semifinal — the winner advanced to the season championship
• Split cards: 29-28, 28-29, 30-27 for Loughnane

A unanimous-decision win in the PFL regular-season finale that clinched a top-four playoff berth and pushed Kamaka's streak to five. Scores of 30-27, 29-28, 29-28.

Key moments

• Won the PFL regular-season finale to lock up a playoff spot
• Cards read 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 for Kamaka
• Kai Kamaka III recorded a win over Pedro Carvalho.

Kamaka's PFL debut, and his takedown defense decided it — he stuffed Bubba Jenkins's shots, peppered the legs, and hurt Jenkins with an uppercut in the third while defending another takedown. Unanimous 29-28s.

Key moments

• Stuffed Jenkins's takedowns repeatedly — the decisive theme
• Hurt Jenkins with an uppercut in the third while defending a takedown
• Swept the cards 29-28, 29-28, 29-28

A split-decision win over ranked former UFC veteran Henry Corrales on Bellator's milestone 300 card — a quality scalp that nudged Kamaka to 12-5-1.

Key moments

• Edged a split decision over ranked veteran Henry Corrales
• Came on Bellator's milestone 300 card in San Diego
• Kai Kamaka III recorded a win over Henry Corrales.

A hometown shutout in Honolulu — Kamaka swept Adli Edwards 30-27 on all three cards at Bellator 295.

Key moments

• Swept the cards 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 in front of his Honolulu crowd
• Kai Kamaka III recorded a win over Adli Edwards.
• The official method is listed as Decision (unanimous) · R3 5:00.

The first knockout of Kamaka's career — he dug a hard front kick to the body and then punched Boehm out late in the third round.

Key moments

• Landed a hard front kick to the body before finishing with punches
• His first career KO/TKO, at 2:23 of round three
• Kai Kamaka III recorded a win over Kevin Boehm.

A split-decision loss as the hometown favorite in Honolulu — the judges went 28-29, 30-27, 29-28 against him.

Key moments

• Dropped a split decision at home, the cards 28-29, 30-27, 29-28 for Gonzales
• Kai Kamaka III took a loss against Justin Gonzales.
• The official method is listed as Decision (split) · R3 5:00.

Kamaka's Bellator debut, a clean unanimous decision (29-28 across the board) over John de Jesus on the Pettis–Horiguchi card.

Key moments

• Won his Bellator debut 29-28 on all three cards
• Kai Kamaka III recorded a win over John de Jesus.
• The official method is listed as Decision (unanimous) · R3 5:00.

A messy majority draw marred by fouls — an eye poke and a groin strike broke up the action. One judge had Kamaka ahead 29-27, the other two even, leaving it level.

Key moments

• Fouls — an eye poke and a groin strike — disrupted the fight
• One judge saw it 29-27 Kamaka, two had it even: a majority draw
• Kai Kamaka III and Danny Chavez fought to a draw.

A split-decision loss that drew an uproar — the media scorecards near-unanimously had Kamaka winning, and his team announced an appeal. One judge had him up 30-27; the other two went 29-28 Brown.

Key moments

• Widely seen as a robbery — the media scorecards overwhelmingly had Kamaka winning
• One judge scored it 30-27 Kamaka; the other two gave it to Brown
• His team announced an appeal of the result

Pearce ground Kamaka down, took his back, and finished with punches from back control late in the second round.

Key moments

• Pearce took the back and finished with strikes at 4:28 of round two
• Kai Kamaka III took a loss against Jonathan Pearce.
• The official method is listed as TKO (punches) · R2 4:28.

Kamaka's UFC debut, on short notice — he worked the body relentlessly as Kelley headhunted, and the bodywork carried all three rounds for a 29-28 sweep.

Key moments

• Worked the body throughout as Kelley loaded up on the head
• Won his short-notice UFC debut 29-28 on all cards
• Kai Kamaka III recorded a win over Tony Kelley.

A unanimous decision at LFA 87 that ran Kamaka's streak to five and earned the short-notice UFC call — he debuted at UFC 252 just 15 days later.

Key moments

• The win that earned his UFC call-up — he debuted 15 days later
• Kai Kamaka III recorded a win over Michael Stack.
• The official method is listed as Decision (unanimous) · R3 5:00.

Kamaka's featherweight debut, a unanimous-decision win over Spencer Higa in Honolulu.

Key moments

• Won his featherweight debut on the cards
• Kai Kamaka III recorded a win over Spencer Higa.
• The official method is listed as Decision (unanimous) · R3 5:00.

A unanimous-decision win over Shojin Miki — Kamaka controlled the first and most of the second before riding it out.

Key moments

• Controlled the early rounds for a unanimous decision
• Kai Kamaka III recorded a win over Shojin Miki.
• The official method is listed as Decision (unanimous) · R3 5:00.

Kamaka pushed his record to 4-2 with a three-round unanimous decision over Mauricio Diaz at KOTC: Highlight Reel in Ontario, California. The bout went the full fifteen minutes, and the clean scorecards gave Kamaka back-to-back wins after he had split his first four professional outings. It was another regional-circuit result that helped steady his run before the Bellator opportunities that followed later that year.

Key moments

• Kamaka won a full three-round unanimous decision over Diaz at KOTC: Highlight Reel.
• The fight took place in Ontario, California on 10 June 2018.
• The result moved Kamaka to 4-2 as a pro before his December 2018 Bellator debut.

Kamaka returned to the King of the Cage cage in February 2018 and outpointed Rick James over three rounds for a unanimous decision. The win came at KOTC: Energetic Pursuit in Ontario and evened Kamaka's early-career run after the Jeff Mesa setback the year before. It was a straightforward distance win rather than a finish, but it restarted the momentum that carried into the rest of 2018.

Key moments

• Kamaka went the full three rounds with James and won a unanimous decision.
• The win came at KOTC: Energetic Pursuit on 24 February 2018 in Ontario, California.
• It was Kamaka's rebound fight after the March 2017 loss to Jeff Mesa.

Kamaka dropped a unanimous decision to Guam's Jeff Mesa over three rounds at Pacific Xtreme Combat 56 in Mangilao. The loss cut against the momentum of his 2-1 start and stood as the second defeat of his first four professional fights. It was a distance bout rather than a finish, and local coverage from Guam reported Mesa ahead after the full three rounds.

Key moments

• Mesa beat Kamaka by unanimous decision after the full three rounds at PXC 56.
• The bout took place in Mangilao, Guam on 25 March 2017.
• Guam coverage described Mesa as victorious after three rounds, matching the official decision result.

Kamaka's first professional loss came against Andrew Natividad at KOTC: Sanctioned, where the bout was stopped at 4:40 of the opening round because of an arm injury. Multiple record databases list the finish specifically as an arm-injury TKO rather than a generic corner or referee stoppage. The defeat dropped Kamaka to 2-1 and interrupted the quick start to his career.

Key moments

• The fight ended at 4:40 of round one with Natividad winning by TKO due to arm injury.
• It was the first loss of Kamaka's professional career.
• The setback came at KOTC: Sanctioned in June 2015.

Kamaka collected the first finish of his career by submitting Nui Wheeler with a rear-naked choke at 3:20 of the opening round at Destiny Na Koa 6 in Honolulu. The win moved him to 2-0 as a pro and showed an early ability to close a fight before the scorecards were needed. It remains one of the rare submission victories on a resume that later became much more decision-heavy.

Key moments

• Kamaka finished Wheeler with a rear-naked choke at 3:20 of round one.
• The bout took place at Destiny Na Koa 6 in Honolulu.
• The victory improved Kamaka to 2-0 and gave him his first professional stoppage.

Kamaka opened his professional career with a two-round unanimous decision over Anthony Reyes at KOTC: Mana in Hawaii. Available records and the surviving event video both confirm the fight went the distance before Kamaka's name was announced as the clear winner. It was an unflashy debut result, but it gave him his first pro win and started the long climb that eventually brought him to the UFC.

Key moments

• Kamaka won his professional debut over Reyes by unanimous decision after two rounds.
• The event video confirms the judges announced Kamaka as the winner at the final horn.
• The bout took place at KOTC: Mana on 20 October 2012.