Buckshot Kaopua Hawaii’s Rising Welterweight
Jace “Buckshot” Kaopua stands six feet tall in the Top Team gym in Waipahu, Hawaii, where he has forged a 4–3 professional record inside the welterweight cage. Though he remains outside the sport’s mainstream radar, Kaopua has quietly secured a spot at No. 2,510 in the North American MMA rankings and carries a regional berth among Hawaiian fighters who have met the threshold of multiple local appearances.
With seven bouts on his résumé and at least one welterweight outing in each of his last two fights, Kaopua has committed to the 170-pound class even as he seasons his approach. He may not yet headline the marquee events, but his emergence from Hawaii’s tight-knit fight scene underscores the depth the state continues to contribute to mixed martial arts.
