Kai Kamaka III reached the UFC on short notice in 2020, beat Tony Kelley and walked away with a Fight of the Night bonus. That made him visible to a wider audience, but it did not define him. What makes Kamaka different is the way he has kept rebuilding through promotion changes, disputed results and the everyday pressure of providing for a young family while carrying Hawaiian roots into every stage of his career.

What to know in 60 seconds

Kai Kamaka III is an American Featherweight from Ewa Beach, Hawaii, with strong ties to Pearl City and a long connection to Hawaiian MMA culture.
He is best known to many UFC fans for a Fight of the Night debut win over Tony Kelley at UFC 252.
His career has moved through Bellator, the UFC, PFL and Tuff-N-Uff, with notable wins over Bubba Jenkins, Pedro Carvalho, Henry Corrales and Michel Lima.
Kamaka trains at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Tapology lists Eric Nicksick as head coach, and Kamaka has spoken about working in a room connected to teammates such as Dan Ige, Jeremy Kennedy and cousin Ray Cooper III.
He is scheduled to fight Dakota Hope on 4 April 2026 at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas in a late-notice booking reported as a Lightweight bout.

Kai Kamaka III’s background

Kamaka is from Ewa Beach and has long been associated with Pearl City. Spectrum News Hawaii described him in 2024 as a Kamehameha Schools graduate from Pearl City.

He has spoken openly about the environment that shaped him. In a 2024 interview, Kamaka said he grew up during a period when his uncles were “pioneers for Hawaiian MMA”, and he framed that background as one reason he has stayed committed to the sport for so long. That matters because his career has never been a simple straight line upward. He also said, “I wrestled in high school, I wrestled in college, I had multiple surgeries but I stuck through it all,” which gives a clearer sense of the setbacks behind the public record.

There are important non-MMA details in that story too. Kamaka is a husband and father, and he has repeatedly described family life as central to the choices he makes. He has also moved his household from Hawaii to pursue better opportunities on the mainland, which helps explain why so many of his career decisions have carried added pressure.

Finding combat sports

Kamaka’s clearest athletic base is wrestling pedigree. He attended Pearl City High School where he wrestled and won the HHSAA State Championship after claiming gold in OIA conference finals. His game was built on years of mat time, competition structure and the kind of balance that wrestling tends to give a fighter early.

He has described that route as one that ran through high school wrestling, college wrestling and then the usual Hawaiian crossover into striking and MMA. In that same 2024 interview, he explained that being exposed to the fight life before the modern spotlight helped him understand what the sport actually demands. That helps explain the tone of his career.

His current base is Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Tapology lists Eric Nicksick as head coach, with Eddie Barraco and Renato Canuto also listed among the coaching staff. Kamaka’s own comments in 2024 also showed how embedded he is in that room, referencing teammates and training partners who had already gone through demanding tournament or UFC schedules.

Turning pro and the road to the UFC

Kamaka turned professional in 2012 and began putting together a résumé across smaller shows before reaching Bellator. His fight history shows Bellator wins over Shojin Miki in December 2018 and Spencer Higa in December 2019, then an LFA 87 decision over Michael Stack on 31 July 2020. That LFA result became the bridge to something bigger.

The key turning point was not just the UFC call itself but the gamble that came before it. MMA Fighting reported that after the LFA win, Kamaka stayed in Las Vegas rather than flying home, hoping a short-notice opening might come. His wife was pregnant at the time, which made the risk more personal. Kamaka summed up the mindset in a direct line: “I didn’t want to come home without a job.” A few days later, Sean Shelby’s office called, and Kamaka had his UFC debut.

That debut could easily have felt rushed or temporary. Instead, Kamaka beat Tony Kelley by unanimous decision at UFC 252 and earned a Fight of the Night bonus. For an athlete who had just taken a three-week chance on himself, it was a major validation point.

Key UFC milestones

The Kelley win remains one of Kamaka’s defining UFC moments because it introduced him as a fighter who could handle pace, pressure and a fast transition into the highest level. Even several years later, it is still the most obvious milestone on his first UFC run.

His next UFC results were less straightforward. He had a second-round TKO loss to Jonathan Pearce in November 2020, then a split decision loss to T.J. Brown in May 2021. The Brown fight quickly became one of the more disputed decisions of Kamaka’s career. MMA Fighting reported that his manager filed an appeal and that media scorecards heavily favoured Kamaka.

Kamaka’s final UFC appearance of that stint ended in a majority draw with Danny Chavez in July 2021 after a point deduction. On paper, that left him with a 1-2-1 UFC record. In practice, it left the sense of a fighter who had been competitive throughout without getting a clean run of results.

Setbacks, injuries, suspensions, cancellations or controversy

If there is a recurring theme in Kamaka’s career, it is that he has had to keep working through disruption. Some of that has been physical. He has spoken about having multiple surgeries during his wrestling journey, which adds context to how much value he places on recovery, sleep and preparation now.

Some of it has been professional. The Brown decision was controversial enough to trigger an appeal, and MMA Fighting quoted Kamaka’s manager saying Kamaka had moved his entire household from Hawaii to chase the career. That detail captures why a disputed result can hit harder than a routine loss.

There have also been cancellations and organisational uncertainty. Kamaka withdrew from a planned Bellator 283 bout, then a later rebooking with Akhmed Magomedov fell through when Magomedov withdrew, and a planned May 2025 fight with Mike Grundy at GFL 2 disappeared when the event itself was cancelled. Spectrum News Hawaii also reported that after Bellator was absorbed by PFL, Kamaka described the transition period as messy and uncertain.

Still, he kept moving. After leaving the UFC, he won Bellator fights against John de Jesus, Kevin Boehm, Adli Edwards and Henry Corrales, then put together a solid PFL 2024 run with victories over Bubba Jenkins and Pedro Carvalho before losing a split decision to Brendan Loughnane in the Featherweight semifinals. That is not the profile of a fighter who disappeared after one UFC stint. It is the profile of a fighter who stayed relevant.

Life outside the cage

Kamaka’s public comments make it clear that family comes first. In 2024 he said, “I got enough people in my household that it’s all I can worry about is fighting and family,” and added that his wife enjoys the sport and that his kids do jiu-jitsu. That gives his career a different texture from fighters whose public identity is built only around competition. Kamaka often talks like a provider first and a prizefighter second.

That family structure also overlaps with his fight life. PFL lists Ray Cooper III as Kamaka’s cousin and training partner, and Spectrum News Hawaii described the bond between them as unusually close, with Kamaka saying, “We should be brothers.” In 2024 he also spent much of the year cornering teammates such as Dan Ige, Jeremy Kennedy and Cooper between his own bouts, which says a lot about how valued he is inside his gym.

There is also a strong Hawaii identity running through everything he says. Kamaka has tied his motivation to heritage, family and representation more than to status. One of his clearest lines came before the PFL semifinals, when he said the money was secondary because “The money’s for my wife.” That is as direct a window as you are likely to get into what drives him.

Current status (as of March 2026)

Kai Kamaka III is scheduled to fight Dakota Hope on 4 April 2026 at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. Multiple outlets reported the matchup on 31 March as a late addition to the UFC Vegas 115 card, with it being described as a lightweight bout even though Kamaka’s recent record and long-term identity are much more closely tied to Featherweight. He enters that booking with a 17-7-1 professional record and a January 2026 Tuff-N-Uff win over Michel Lima, part of a recent stretch that also includes wins over Joshua Weems and Sitik Muduev and a split decision loss to Diego Brandao in a Tuff-N-Uff title fight.

Kai Kamaka III MMA Record and Fighter Stats

Name
Kai Kamaka III

Nationality
American

Weight Class
Featherweight

Date of Birth
5 January 1995 (Age 31)

Height
5’7″

Pro Record
17-7-1. 1 wins by KO, 1 win by submission

UFC Record
1-2-1

Recent Fight Record

DateEventOpponentResultMethod

22-Jan-26Tuff-N-Uff 151Michael LimaW3rd Round KO

25-Oct-25Tuff-N-Uff 149Diego BrandaoLSplit Decision

29-Jun-25Tuff-N-Uff 145Sitik MuduevWUnanimous Decision

25-Apr-25Tuff-N-Uff 143Joshua WeemsW2nd Round TKO

23-Aug-24PFL 9: 2024 PlayoffsBrendan LoughnaneLSplit Decision

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