Andre Fili needed 22 seconds of the second round to remind everyone he still has a finishing shot. The featherweight veteran landed a flush head kick on Kai Kamaka III and put him out at 0:22 of Round 2 on the main card of UFC Vegas 122 Saturday night at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. MMA Junkie posted the official result (KO, head kick), and the UFC’s own account reacted with “HOLY S**T” followed by a note that Fili had kicked his way back into the win column. That second part is the bigger deal here.
Fili came in on a two-fight losing streak, with defeats to Vinicius Oliveira and Jose Delgado. The Oliveira loss was a brutal TKO, and MMA Mania’s preview pointed out it was only the fourth time in 39 fights Fili had been stopped by strikes. He entered this one at 13-13-1 inside the Octagon, so the win nudges him back over .500 at 14-13-1. This was his 28th UFC fight. MMA Fighting noted before the card that only Darren Elkins has logged more UFC appearances among featherweights.
Both men made weight without drama on Friday, Fili at 145.5 and Kamaka at 146, which on this card counted as a minor miracle. Three other fighters missed, including Ismael Bonfim, who came in 7.5 pounds heavy.
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Kamaka, now in his second stint with the promotion after a strong run in Bellator and the PFL, was coming off a first-round standing TKO loss to Luke Riley in July. Before that he took a split decision over Dakota Hope. He now has back-to-back stoppage losses, and the Riley fight and this one were both quick.
The pre-fight read was split. MMA Mania’s betting preview had Fili at -155 and Kamaka at +130 and took the veteran, arguing Fili’s strength of schedule meant he’d seen everything Kamaka brings. MMA Fighting went the other way and picked Kamaka, writing that speed favored the younger man and that Father Time had finally caught up to Fili. Father Time apparently didn’t account for a right leg traveling at head height. No next opponent has been announced for either fighter.
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The rest of the night had its own surprises. Otari Tanzilovi, a +190 underdog per MMA Mania, knocked out Malcolm Wellmaker at 2:39 of Round 2. Gerald Meerschaert retired after Julius Walker stopped him in the second round of their prelim.
Sal’s take: I’ll admit Kamaka at +130 looked like a live dog to me, because a guy coming off back-to-back losses at 36 with 27 UFC fights of mileage is exactly the profile I usually fade. The book had it right and the vibes-based handicapping had it wrong. The Fili-is-cooked crowd built their case on a TKO loss and a calendar, and the counterpoint arrived in the form of a single kick 22 seconds into a round. I’m not pretending one highlight resets the aging curve, but at -155 Fili was a fair number on a guy who has only been stopped by strikes four times in a career this long. Whoever books him next should check those 39 fights before assuming the chin is the problem.
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