Hawaii’s Kai Kamaka III did enough at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., to remain in line for the Professional Fighters League featherweight playoffs, and later results Friday allowed him to clinch a berth.

In a three-round bout broadcast on ESPN Plus, Kamaka (14-5-1) defeated Portugal’s Pedro Carvalho via unanimous decision to run his winning streak to five and improve his PFL record to 2-0. The Ewa Beach native added three points to his ledger with another decision victory to keep him among the top four in the featherweight standings, the threshold necessary to reach the playoffs.

By following up his PFL debut win over Bubba Jenkins with further success, his next stop will be Washington, D.C., for the playoffs at The Anthem on Aug. 23. The last fighter who could've prevented that, Justin Gonzales, failed to score a first-round finish of Brendan Loughnane for the bonus points necessary to surpass Kamaka in the standings.

“I mean, I get to go to the capital for the first time. I’m excited about that,” Kamaka said to a PFL media scrum afterward. “You gotta heal up and you gotta go again.”

Friday’s battle with Carvalho, another veteran of the Bellator circuit, was scored 30-27, 29-28, 29-28. Kamaka landed the heavier strikes early in the bout, then survived the southpaw Carvalho’s close-range flurries and a late takedown in Rounds 2 and 3.

Kamaka would’ve earned a playoff spot with a finish of Carvalho (13-10, 0-2 PFL) in any round with the bonus points that conveys, but neither fighter came close to ending it. The 5-foot-11 Carvalho (13-10) enjoyed a 4-inch height advantage on Kamaka.

Afterward, he said he was not concerned about going for the extra points with a finish that might’ve caused him to break from his game plan.

“If you want me to be real, in a fight, I don’t give no (bleep) about a point system,” Kamaka said. “That’s all for the PFL. I gotta win my fight … finish, no finish, feed my family, move on to the next fight, get better, try to get the next finish. The worst-case scenario is I gotta win. The best-case scenario is a finish and more points.”

Kamaka was credited with landing 78 strikes to Carvalho’s 88. Carvalho accumulated many via light leg kicks, while Kamaka landed the heavier kicks to the body.

Kamaka landed the heavier blows in Round 1. In Round 2, Carvalho got his share of shots in from close range.

Carvalho wrestled Kamaka against the cage in the middle of Round 3 and got Kamaka to the ground with about a minute left. Kamaka worked his way back to his feet.

Kamaka lost his footing onto his backside and Carvalho pounced on him with 30 seconds left. Kamaka, on his back, tried to lock Carvalho up as the bell sounded.

The PFL featherweight playoffs are set for Aug. 23 at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. The PFL playoffs, spanning six divisions, carry a $1 million purse for the winners.

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