Welcome to the PFL, Kai Kamaka III.
The 29-year-old Ewa Beach native opened up the main card of Friday’s Professional Fighters League regular season event with a unanimous decision over veteran Bubba Jenkins at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
The organizational debut for the featherweight Kamaka (13-5-1) was also his fourth win in a row. He won his last three as a member of defunct Bellator MMA, which was absorbed by the PFL late last year.
“That was awesome. A win’s a win,” Kamaka said in a PFL post-fight interview. “But to beat someone like Bubba Jenkins, keep adding them up, keep adding another name, another step up, that’s the main thing.”
All three officials scored the three-round fight 29-28 in favor of Kamaka, who garnered three points in the PFL featherweight standings. He is attempting to place in the top four of 12 fighters in the division to quality for the playoffs, with the end goal a $1 million prize.
Kamaka is scheduled to fight again in eight weeks in Sioux Falls, S.D., against an opponent to be determined. He stands in a three-way tie for third place.
Other featherweight fights Friday were Gabriel Braga over Justin Gonzales (KO, first round) and Brendan Loughnane over Pedro Carvalho (TKO, first round). Gonzales and Carvalho both gained six points, the maximum point bonus, because they stopped their foe in the first round.
“It’s cool seeing everybody in your weight class on the same night, competing one after another,” Kamaka said. “And it’s good to get the things rolling and get the first win.”
The 36-year-old Jenkins (21-8) was a PFL featherweight finalist in 2022.
The fight was relatively even until Kamaka made a move in Round 3.
Kamaka stunned Jenkins with a right hand with less than 30 seconds left in Round 1.
He recovered from two takedowns in Round 2 and landed a combo before the bell.
Kamaka wobbled Jenkins with an uppercut in Round 3.
“Taking a breather,” Kamaka said of what he will do next. “Calling my kids. … Going to have a good dinner when I get back to Vegas. Might have a drink tonight. But just gotta heal the body up and get back to work.”
Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.