The UFC is bringing back a fighter that originally left the promotion in 2021 for a short-notice matchup on this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card.
Following visits to London and Seattle, the UFC returns home to Las Vegas, NV this weekend for another event at the Meta APEX. The card’s headlining attraction will see surging lightweight Chris Duncan attempt to break into the promotion’s 155 lbs. rankings when he takes on Renato Moicano, who currently occupies the division’s #10 spot.
UFC Vegas 115 Adds Dakota Hope vs. Kai Kamaka III
UFC Vegas 115 only had 12 scheduled bouts leading up to fight week, but Nolan King was the first to report that the promotion has re-signed Kai Kamaka III to make his Octagon return this weekend in Las Vegas.
Following Nolan’s initial report, Marcel Dorff broke the news that Kamaka’s return fight will see him square off with Dakota Hope, who is set to make his promotional debut following five-straight wins that came across a number of top regional MMA promotions.
Dakota Hope Gets Short-Notice UFC Opportunity
Boasting an 11-1 record in professional MMA, Hope won six-straight fights after turning pro in 2019 before he dropped a decision to David Bosnick in a featherweight title bout at American Kombat Alliance 19.
“Huracán” rebounded later that year with a second successful defense of his Peak Fighting featherweight belt, and in 2024 he traveled to Luliang, Shanxi, China to score a first-round finish against Yongqiang Liu at JCK Fight Night 94.
The 29-year-old returned home to the United States last year to collect another three wins between LFA and Fury FC, and he was scheduled to make his third Fury FC appearance in May before signing on to make his UFC debut against Kamaka this weekend.
Kai Kamaka III Returns To UFC After More Than 4 Years
A veteran of 25 pro MMA bouts, Kamaka initially joined the UFC with a 7-2 record in 2020 and took a unanimous decision over Tony Kelley in his promotional debut.
Both Kamaka and Kelley earned post-fight bonuses for competing in the “Fight of the Night” at UFC 252, but unfortunately “The Fighting Hawaiian” went on to drop his next two bouts against Jonathan Pearce and TJ Brown. Following a majority draw against Danny Chavez in 2021, Kamaka exited the UFC and rejoined Bellator after previously going 2-0 in the promotion.
The 31-year-old had a very successful second run with Bellator before the promotion was purchased by the PFL, and his hopes of winning the 2024 PFL featherweight tournament were halted when he dropped a split decision to Brendan Loughnane in that year’s playoffs,
Kamara went on to join Las Vegas-based Tuff-N-Uff last year and collected two wins before he came up just short of winning the promotion’s featherweight belt in a meeting with fellow UFC veteran Diego Brandão last October.
UFC Vegas 115 Fight Card
“The Fighting Hawaiian” already kicked off his 2026 with a third-round knockout of Michel Lima at Tuff-N-Uff 151, and the addition of his short-notice lightweight matchup with the debuting Hope gives UFC Vegas 115 a total of 13 fights.
• Main Event: Renato Moicano vs. Chris Duncan
• Co-Main Event: Virna Jandiroba vs. Tabatha Ricci
• Tommy McMillen vs. Manolo Zecchini
• Robert Ruchala vs. Jose Delano
• Rafael Estevam vs. Ethyn Ewing
• Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev vs. Brendson Ribeiro
• Hailey Cowan vs. Alice Pereira
• Alessandro Costa vs. Stewart Nicoll
• Dione Barbosa vs. Melissa Gatto
• Azamat Bekoev vs. Tresean Gore
• Thomas Petersen vs. Guilherme Pat
• Lando Vannata vs. Darrius Flowers
• Dakota Hope vs. Kai Kamaka III
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