Kai Kamaka III hasn’t had the worst of it, but the Hawaii native has seen how the Professional Fighters League’s seasonal format has taken a toll on other fighters.
Kamaka will headline PFL9 when he faces Brendan Loughnane in the featherweight semifinals on Aug. 23 at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. This will be Kamaka’s third fight in four months, a season that began with consecutive decision wins that earned him a spot in the PFL postseason.
Kamaka “The Fighting Hawaiian” says his gym, Extreme Couture, is known for training fighters to prepare for short notice bouts, which he says helps with the PFL’s seasonal format, which allows for frequent bouts. But he’s also seen the strain the format has taken on fighters like his teammate, PFL light heavyweight Sadibou See. Kamaka revealed that the Swede has been “hurt” all season after suffering a dislocated thumb in a freak injury loss to Joshua Silveira in the 2024 season opener. But “Swedish Denzel” bounced back with a TKO win over Andrew Sanchez in June of this year.
“My team is helping me a lot right now with preparing for this fight. We have several fighters in different weight classes who have gone through this process,” Kamaka III said during a recent PFL media call. [Sy]His locker is right next to mine. There are some featherweights in the tournaments. But there is only so much they can do. I know the tournaments are tough for them. [Sy] “I’ve been injured all season. I was unable to play the full camp because of hand pain, so I know it’s going to be hard on the body. Luckily, I’m coming into this game in the healthiest I’ve been all season.”
Extreme Couture brings together talented fighters from around the world, competing in locations throughout the year, and Kamaka leads by example by fighting for his teammates. The 29-year-old isn’t burned out, but it’s been a busy year so far, traveling from place to place to keep his teammates on their toes. Kamaka points out that his schedule also takes its toll on his family.
“This year has been crazy in terms of making sacrifices for my family,” he said. “From the beginning of the year, doing a segment with Dan Ige and Andre Fili in February, getting on a plane to Hawaii for two weeks, then flying to Saudi Arabia to be with Ray. [Cooper III] A few weeks later I was fighting Jeremy Kennedy in Belfast and then lo and behold, four weeks later I was fighting Bubba Jenkins.
“So this past year, I’ve made a lot of sacrifices for myself, for my family. My family has made sacrifices for me. And then these last five months, I’ve played back-to-back matches and now I’m playing my third match. It’s a big sacrifice, but it’s been a tough year for my family.”
