Head clash wasn't going to deter Kai Kamaka in long-awaited UFC return
After five years away, Kai Kamaka III returned to the UFC on short notice and picked up a split decision win.
LAS VEGAS – Kai Kamaka III met the media Saturday after his win over Dakota Hope at UFC Fight Night 272. Kamaka (18-7-1 MMA, 2-2-1 UFC) took a split decision from Hope (11-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) to open the prelims at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. Kamaka returned to the UFC after nearly five years away in Bellator, the PFL and Tuff-N-Uff.
His return against Hope came on just a few days' notice. He said a bad head clash in the first round affected him the rest of the way – but that he wasn't going to let it stand in the way of what he needed to do once he was finally back in the UFC. "I was having a hard time getting my rhythm after the first round.
We had the clash of heads, and it was solid," Kamaka said at his post-fight news conference. "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. "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.