Kai Kamaka III made a successful return to the UFC on short notice, earning a split-decision win over Dakota Hope at UFC Fight Night 272.
The bout opened the prelims at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas, where Kamaka did enough on the judges’ scorecards to move his record to 18-7-1 in MMA and 2-2-1 in the UFC. Hope, who was making his UFC debut, dropped to 11-2 in MMA and 0-1 in the promotion.
Kamaka said a clash of heads in the first round changed the feel of the fight for him. "I was having a hard time getting my rhythm after the first round. We had the clash of heads, and it was solid," he said. "The next couple shots came to the back of my head, too, on the ground. But I was like, 'You've just got to work through this.' I've been through harder."
Reflecting on the mental side of his journey back to the Octagon after nearly five years competing in Bellator, the PFL and Tuff-N-Uff, Kamaka added: "I've been through a lot mentally to get to this point that you're going to have to kill me. You're going to have to put me to sleep. That's probably the only way I want to lose, anyway – just put me to sleep. Make it painless."
