Kai Kamaka III felt right at home in Las Vegas and comfortable back under a familiar banner.

In his first UFC appearance since 2021, the 31-year-old Kamehameha graduate from Pearl City defeated Dakota Hope by split decision in a three-round lightweight fight at UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs. Duncan at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas.

Both fighters accepted the bout on just a few days’ notice. Kamaka (18-7-1) weathered an early barrage from Hope (11-2) and steadily asserted control in a battle of strikes to get his hand raised.

Kamaka had fought with the Bellator MMA and Professional Fighters League organizations in recent years. He won a fight against Michel Lima under the Tuff-N-Uff banner in January and rejoined the UFC.

“Everything was a blessing,” Kamaka, who lives in Las Vegas with his wife and five children, said in a post-fight interview with the UFC. “My fifth fight (in Las Vegas). I’ve been through a lot. I had a parallel career outside, growing, a lot of adversity. But this is kind of my home. I cornered a lot of my teammates here. Trained here a lot. Came to a lot of grappling events, came to a lot of fights. It’s good to be in Vegas because you get the opportunity to see this place a lot and be comfortable with it.”

It was the opening fight of the undercard.

All three judges scored the first round 10-9 for Hope and all three gave Kamaka the second 10-9. Two of three judges gave the third round to Kamaka by a point.

“I knew (his early rush) was going to happen and I was going to push right after that and try to pick up my pace as fast as I could and as smart as I could,” Kamaka said.

“I felt like I was landing cleaner shots,” he added. “A lot of stuff that he was (bringing) was trying to barrage and trying to make something crazy happen. First round, I felt a bunch of punches to the back of my head. But a fight’s a fight. You gotta kinda work through that.”

He said he looked forward to spending time with his wife on her birthday and their children; the Kamakas had a week of regular family time disrupted by the sudden fight invitation.

“I just put my foot back in the door and I gotta go back in the gym and get better,” Kamaka said. “A lot to work on from here.”

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.