Tag: Kai Kamaka

Kai Kamaka wants James Gallagher after huge win over Henry Corrales at Bellator 300

Kai Kamaka wasted little time after the biggest win of his career.

SAN DIEGO – [autotag]Kai Kamaka[/autotag] wasted little time after the biggest win of his career.

Kamaka (12-5-1 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) took a split decision from Henry Corrales (21-7 MMA, 9-7 BMMA) this past Saturday, then called out brash Irishaman James Gallagher.

Kamaka spoke to the media following his win over Corrales at Bellator 300, which took place at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.

Watch Kamaka’s full post-fight interview in the video above.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 300.

Bellator 300 gains: What all 32 fighters weighed on fight night

Find out how much weight all 32 fighters at Bellator 300 gained from the Friday morning official weigh-ins to Saturday night fights.

In California, fighters have their weights checked on the day of competition – not just when they have to hit their marks on the scale.

In 2017, the California State Athletic Commission put a plan in place to try to cut back on excessive weight cutting. Within those rules was a cap on how much a fighter could gain from the official weigh-ins to the fight.

If a fighter gained more than 10 percent back before the bout, the commission then could make a recommendation that he or she move to a higher weight class. If a fighter gained more than 15 percent, the commission had plans in place to potentially cancel fights.

At Bellator 300, which took place this past Saturday in San Diego, 14 of the 32 fighters on the card gained more than 10 percent of their weight back. Three of those 14 exceeded the 15 percent threshold. MMA Junkie obtained a list of fight-night weights Monday from the CSAC.

Check out the weight gains and percentages for all 32 fighters on the card at Pechanga Arena.

Bellator 300 post-event facts: Cris Cyborg upgrades already legendary resume

Check out all the facts and figures from Bellator 300, which saw Usman Nurmagomedov, Cris Cyborg and Liz Carmouche exit as champs.

The landmark Bellator 300 event took place Saturday at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, and all three champions who entered the event left with the belts around their waists.

[autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (18-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) retained his lightweight belt in the main event and advanced to the grand prix final, [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag]’s (27-2 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) continued her dominant legacy to retain women’s featherweight gold in the co-headliner, and women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag]’s (20-7 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) scored a stoppage in the main card opener.

For more on the numbers to come out of the event, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 300.

Kai Kamaka: There’s a list of opponents I want, but Henry Corrales is up first at Bellator 300

Kai Kamaka has been around the MMA game long enough to have seen plenty of fighters in his sphere make one crucial mistake.

SAN DIEGO – [autotag]Kai Kamaka[/autotag] has been around the MMA game long enough to have seen plenty of fighters in his sphere make one crucial mistake.

It’s the proverbial counting of the chickens before they’ve hatched, and you can ask Kamaka all you want about what he wants next. He even admits he’s got a list of names. But on that list at the top is his Saturday opponent, Henry Corrales. And right now, that’s the only name that matters to him.

Kamaka talked about that and more at Thursday’s Bellator 300 media day in San Diego.

Check out the full interview in the video above. Bellator 300 takes place Saturday at Pechanga Arena in San Diego. The main card, which features three title fights, airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 300.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Aug. 21-27)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Aug. 21-27.

Kai Kamaka wants quick turnaround after Bellator 295 win, suggests Weber Almeida next

Kai Kamaka is ready to jump straight back to action after Bellator 295.

HONOLULU – [autotag]Kai Kamaka[/autotag] is ready to jump straight back to action after Bellator 295.

Kamaka (11-5-1 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) defeated Adli Edwards by unanimous decision this past Saturday at Neal S. Blaisdell Arena.

Kamaka wants a ranked opponent or [autotag]Weber Almeida[/autotag] – who was booked to face Keoni Diggs on the same night before the fight was scrapped due to weight-cutting issues from Diggs’ side.

“Give me anybody, 7,8,9,” Kamaka told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the post-fight news conference. “Keoni Diggs missed weight. Give me Weber Almeida. Give me any of those guys. Just give me somebody and get me in quick. I’m healthy, I’m always getting better, I don’t take any shortcuts.

“I make weight. I don’t ask for catchweight. I do my part so the promotion, they’ve got to see that. I show up anywhere. I show up for people. A lot of times I show up for people that don’t show up, and I make weight every single time. That’s the main thing.”

Kamaka, who stopped Kevin Boehm in his past outing at Bellator 289, was hoping to finish Edwards but felt in control of the fight regardless.

“I feel like I let him stay in the fight longer than I should have,” Kamaka said. “I should have finished him. I should have seen my wife a lot earlier, but it was a lot easier, and I wanted to make it a fight. I came to do that, and I’ve seen everything in there. That’s how I know I made it easier. I slowed everything down. I could see it all, and I was just kind of making sure I’d seen it all. But time ran out before I could finish him.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 295.

Bellator 295 post-event facts: Patchy Mix’s knee knockout caps off epic grand prix run

Patchy Mix is firmly in the Bellator record books after a perfect knee made him $1 million richer at Bellator 295.

Bellator 295 took place Saturday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu and marked the second night of the promotion’s weekend doubleheader in Hawaii.

The final fight of a loaded week proved to be the most memorable, because [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] (18-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) scored one of the greatest knockout highlights in company history when he flattened [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] (19-2 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) with a picture-perfect knee to the jaw knockout just 80 seconds into their main event. The nasty finish not only won him the interim bantamweight title, but he is the last man standing in the bantamweight grand prix, winning $1 million after completing the eight-man field.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 295.

Kai Kamaka puts past behind him: ‘You gotta get better or you’re gonna get weeded out’

Former UFC fighter Kai Kamaka will look to string together his first winning streak since 2020 at Bellator 295 in Honolulu.

HONOLULU – [autotag]Kai Kamaka[/autotag] looks to string together his first winning streak since 2020 at Bellator 295.

Kamaka (10-5-1 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) meets Adli Edwards (9-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) in a featherweight bout on Saturday at Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Kamaka has had some mixed results lately. He won two of his past three, but had a majority draw and two split decision losses among his five most recent outings. A Hawaiian fighter, Kamaka will look to gain some consistency when he faces Edwards in his backyard.

“Winning is the most important thing in this sport, in sports in general,” Kamaka told reporters including MMA Junkie at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “I’ve got to do my part, and I feel like I’ve done my part all up until this point. I get 15 minutes of time to do so on Saturday.

“As much of a sore loser as I want to be on these split decisions, draws or whatever, you can’t do anything about it. You just have go to get better or you’re gonna get weeded out in this sport. You don’t get much chances, and I feel like I’m pretty damn close.”

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Edwards has yet to prove himself on the big stage. He lost his Bellator debut against Aaron Pico on short notice, but was on a seven-fight win streak prior to that. Kamaka knows not to underestimate his opponent.

“I think it’s a good matchup,” Kamaka said. “It’s a fight, style-wise, where I can show a lot of my skills. He’s a tough guy. He’s a student of the game. Evidently, he’s got to be good to be at this level, so I’m excited.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 295.

Emotional Kai Kamaka reflects on first finish in more than eight years at Bellator 289

Kai Kamaka’s MMA career had been more down than up the past couple years, but is hoping his Bellator 289 win will jumpstart something.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – [autotag]Kai Kamaka[/autotag]’s MMA career had been more down than up the past couple years, but is hoping his Friday win will jumpstart something.

Kamaka (9-5-1 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) was favored in his featherweight fight against Kevin Boehm (9-5 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) at Bellator 289 in Uncasville, Conn. The Hawaiian put Boehm away with a third-round TKO. Not only was it the first knockout finish of his career, it was his first stoppage win of any kind in more than eight years.

“It’s a nice way to bounce back from a lot of (losses),” Kamaka told MMA Junkie after the fight. “Every win is a big one. I don’t think I’m fighting the guy in there. I’m just fighting myself. It was good to get that finish. … I’m glad to get that finish.”

Kamaka had been 1-3-1 in his previous five fights before he beat Boehm. He went 0-2-1 in his final three fights in the UFC before he was cut loose and signed with Bellator for a win over John de Jesus in December 2021. But a few months later, he lost on his home turf in Honolulu to Justin Gonzales.

The win over Boehm was big for Kamaka to bounce back, and now he’ll await his next assignment. Cris Lencioni, who also won at Bellator 289, called out Kamaka for an April fight in Honolulu if the rumors hold and Bellator returns there.

To hear Kamaka talk about his win over Boehm, his preparation for it and what he wants next, check out the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 289.

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Bellator 289 post-event facts: Underdogs shine on final card of 2022

Check out all the facts and figures from Bellator 289, which took place Friday and saw a number of significant betting upsets.

Bellator put on its 17th and final event of the year on Friday with Bellator 289, which took place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

Two champions defended their titles at the top of the card. In the main event, [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] (19-1 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) edged [autotag]Danny Sabatello[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) by split decision in their grudge match to defend interim bantamweight gold and advance to the finals of the promotion’s grand prix.

The co-headliner saw [autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag] (18-7 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) earn a second consecutive win over [autotag]Juliana Velasquez[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 7-2 BMMA), this time without controversy as she scored a second-round submission to defend women’s flyweight gold.

For more on the numbers behind the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 289.