Dakota Hope

Dakota Hope vs. Kai Kamaka III
BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Kamaka (-155); Hope (+130)

Round 1
We are here together on Saturday to bear witness to an Apex event that has a couple ranked fighters and three bouts with a betting favorite sporting odds above -600. A baker’s dozen series of tilts will play out in the world-famous Octagon, and the action kicks off at the lightweight division. Fresh off a crushing two-minute knockout in Fury FC while the UFC was in town last month, Hope (11-1, 0-0 UFC) gets the shot he called for that Friday night. He takes the short-notice pairing against the returning Kamaka (17-7-1, 1-2-1 UFC). The lightweights take center stage while referee Keith Peterson watches on, and the two rush towards one another with no nonsense and no glove touch.
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Hope races out of his corner throwing caution to the wind, scoring punches and mashing his way into a clinch. He nails Kamaka with an elbow to break off, and measures himself to double up on a jab and hurl a right hand over the top. Hope scores another hard punch and starts driving knees to the liver. Kamaka bends over from the quick strikes, opening up Hope to knee him in the face once or twice. The Hawaiian remains in the clinch to get his bearings, and Hope knocks him back with a right hand to separate. Kamaka fires back and nails the front leg with a kick after tossing a few punches, and he finds that at 75 seconds in, Hope takes his foot off the gas for a moment. Kamaka delivers a front kick to the body after swaying back to avoid the looping punches from the Texan, and he chews up the front leg with a few kicks. Hope swings his way into a grappling exchange, resulting in a clinch so that Hope can work the body with knees and a clean left hand. Kamaka targets the body and front leg when he gets a second at his preferred range, pecking and probing when Hope decides not to explode at him. Hope gathers a head of steam and crashes forward swinging his fists, landing one or two before Kamaka shells up.
Kamaka decides it is time to throw back, and he starts swinging for the bleachers. Hope fires back as their heads bash together and knocks him off his feet, charging to hammer the downed Hawaiian and hope to put him away. Kamaka tanks the strikes, absorbs a few to the back of the head, and he wall-walks to stand back up. While they remain tied up in the center of the cage, Hope keeps working his foe over with knees to the midsection and an elbow on the break. Kamaka chips at the lead leg and leans back from a counter overhand right. Hope takes a heavy low kick and blitzes, and Kamaka is ready for it and defends the worst of them before kneeing Hope to break away. Hope successfully counters a low kick with right upstairs, and he knees the stomach and pops Kamaka with his shoulder when they are in close proximity. Hope shoulder strikes his opponent in the jaw and is kicked away with a front kick. The horn sounds.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Hope
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Hope
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Hope

Round 2
Hope starts out the round again attacking with everything he has, swinging wildly and ringing Kamaka’s bell early. Kamaka grabs hold of him to keep himself afloat, resulting in his absorption of a stern shoulder to his jaw. Kamaka frees himself and starts to beat on the front leg of his adversary, forcing Hope to change stances. Hope offers a feeble front kick back from his other leg and keeps his front leg high to prevent it being kicked back. Kamaka boxes on the inside while Hope is still putting power on everything, and this leaves Hope open to straight, quick strikes like a push kick down the middle. Kamaka grabs hold of “Huracan” and holds him for as long as he can, but Hope breaks free and swings recklessly. Kamaka stays composed, works the lead leg again and dances away from the following fire.
Kamaka’s low kick is starting to pay off, as Hope is slightly compromised when he rushes in. Hope still has plenty of power, as Kamaka gets cracked and looks around for a second before regaining his composure in the clinch. When tied up, Hope knees the torso and rips a pair of punches before Kamaka decides to find another approach. Kamaka backs away and works his way forward with a huge right hand, drawing out fire from Hope. Hope unleashes a fury of punches and knees, and Kamaka is tough as can be and does not wilt in the oncoming fire. Kamaka slashes out with an elbow when they split up, and Hope strikes the body back. Kamaka’s leg kick scores again, and his head movement keeps him out of danger when Hope swings back. Kamaka lets a high kick go, and he intercepts Hope with a knee to the body when Hope charges again. Hope scores twice, and Kamaka is right there in the pocket to trade with him. There is no fear of the power as the two duke it out to the bell.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Hope
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Hope
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Hope

Round 3
Hope says hello in the final frame with a body kick, and Kamaka stands in the pocket to give him back more to think about. Kamaka tees off on Hope’s front leg and abdomen with both shins, backing Hope to the wall and ignoring a right hand to dig a left to the body. Kamaka appears the fresher of the two, while Hope’s volume is diminishing to a degree. Kamaka measures an advancing Hope with a step-in knee, and he stays in place too long to get popped with a few punches. Kamaka forces the Texan to back off courtesy of an elbow on the bridge of the nose, and he stabs his toes to Hope’s body to deter him from recklessly advancing. They come together and clinch, with Kamaka getting the upper hand with an elbow that makes Hope take a funny step back. Hope tries to brawl, and Kamaka sees the telegraphed hurled hands coming and avoids the worst of it.
They crash together, and Hope lands an elbow while Kamaka gets off a knee. Hope goes body-head-body, and he follows with a knee to the liver. Kamaka stays right in his face and jacks him in the jaw, forcing Hope to stumble with a low kick. Hope knees the body and elbows up top, and Kamaka does not flinch. Kamaka goes to the body, and he is knocked back from a counter right hand. Hope rifles off a left to the body and dips back before the counters, and he crashes the pocket once more attacking with everything he has. Kamaka rolls with the punches and fires back with a vengeance, and the two bang their heads together once more. No blood is drawn from what is at least the third time the two bulls have conked heads, and they proceed to keep dueling as if they were just getting started. Hope takes a hard punch to the body and has to suck wind to recover, and he uses his momentum to tackle Kamaka to the floor. Kamaka quickly wall-walks without absorbing much, and he leans on the fencing until the intense match concludes. It may all come down to the scoring of the second round.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Kamaka (29-28 Hope)
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Kamaka (29-28 Hope)
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Kamaka (29-28 Hope)

The Official Result
Kai Kamaka III def. Dakota Hope via Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)