Kai Kamaka has dedicated his entire life to the sport of mixed martial arts hoping one day to fight for a championship.
That reality is just one victory away.
The 29-year-old Kamehameha alumnus headlines his first Professional Fighters League event tonight at The Anthem in Washington D.C., when he faces 2022 PFL featherweight champion Brendan Loughnane with a spot in the 145-pound final on the line.
The winner will advance to the finals of the featherweight tournament and fight for a winner’s purse of $1 million.
Loughnane (29-5, 11-2 PFL), the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, won the tournament two years ago and has suffered only one loss in his past eight fights.
Loughnane, 34, of Manchester, England, is a decided favorite against Kamaka after winning both of his fights this year by TKO in the first two rounds.
Kamaka (14-5-1, 2-0) won both of his fights by unanimous decision to get to this point and isn’t worried about his underdog status.
“I don’t really care,” Kamaka said after the ceremonial weight-ins Thursday. “It’s all about progression for me, and tomorrow I keep progressing and I keep stepping up.”
Kamaka weighed in at 145.6 pounds on Thursday, while Loughnane was 146, using the 1-pound allotment allowed for non-world title fights.
Loughnane earned the
$1 million check in 2022 beating Bubba Jenkins in the finals with a fourth-round TKO victory.
Kamaka had to beat Jenkins this season in order to reach the playoffs as the No. 4 seed.
“I take every fight just as serious,” Loughnane said Thursday. “I’m not slowing down for anyone. I am coming off two career-best performances. I am in the peak of my career.”
Kamaka owns multiple wins in the UFC, Bellator and now the PFL, where he seems to have found a home.
Now competing at the top of the card for the first time, Kamaka says he isn’t bothered at all by the amount of attention.
“My whole life is dedicated to this sport, so I mean, this is all I know,” he said. “I didn’t have to find the experience. I have been in the gym since I was a little kid. (Loughnane) has been at the top for a while, but I think it is my time.”
Kamaka, whose last loss was a controversial split decision in 2022 against Justin Gonzales at a Bellator card at the Blaisdell Arena, will fight on the same card as his cousin, Ray Cooper.
Cooper (25-10-1, 12-5-1), who won the PFL welterweight championship in 2019 and ’21, is fighting Mukhamed Berkhamov (16-2) in a non-tournament bout to end the preliminary card.
The fight is being contested at welterweight (170 pounds). Cooper has missed weight in two of his past three fights scheduled for 170 pounds and is coming off a TKO loss to Jason Jackson that was held at a catchweight of 182 pounds.
“I wasn’t excited for my last fight with Jason Jackson. That’s now how I perform and that wasn’t me,” Cooper said at a media event on Wednesday. “Retirement is not in my vocabulary. I ain’t even done yet. I’m in my prime right now. I’m going to win multiple world championships. I’m ready.”
Cooper made weight at 171 pounds on Thursday. Berkhamov, who is a 3:1 favorite, is making his PFL debut after fighting in Bellator.
The main card for tonight’s PFL event begins at 4 p.m. following the conclusion of the Cooper fight and will be broadcast on ESPN. Cooper’s bout is available on ESPN+.
