KAILUA-KONA — The biggest fight of Scotty Hao’s career is coming on his home turf.
Hao, a professional MMA fighter out of Kona, got the call this week telling him that he will be apart of Bellator 236 on Oahu at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena on Dec. 21. He’ll be fighting on the preliminary card against Wahiawa-born fighter Keoni Diggs.
“I had been waiting a while and was on edge a little,” Hao said with a laugh. “We have been working really hard for this.”
Hao earned the spot through a packed tryout that Bellator hosted on Oahu. There were 10 fighters picked from the tryout, and if victorious, they will have a chance to earn an exclusive multi-fight Bellator contract.
The other fighters selected are: Braydon Akeo, Cheyden Leialoha, Pierre Daguzan, Jamie Thorton, Hunter Ewald, Swayne Lunasco, Kaylan Gorospe and Ben Wilhelm.
The opportunity is essentially the holy grail for Hao, who has been searching far and wide for consistent fights, seeing multiple opportunities fall through at the last second. His most recent fight was a victory over Zaxton Kamaka via a rear-naked choke in August at Destiny MMA: Last Man Standing on Oahu. Hao also fought in a pair of Oregon “King of the Cage” bouts and carries a 4-2 professional record.
Now he gets to fight in his home state in front of friends and family with a contract on the line. All the hard work, commitment and time away from his family is paying off.
“This is the next level that I’ve been trying to reach. All the work we have been doing is insane and the struggles of trying to be a fighter are ridiculous,” Hao said. “You have to grind every day. Some people give up right from the start — they go eat a cheeseburger, or chug some beers. You can’t do that if you want to make it.”
Hao’s opponent, Keoni Diggs, has an unblemished 7-0 record, with four of the victories coming by submission.
“He is tough. He’s got a strong mindset, similar to mine,” Hao said of his opponent. “My game plan is to finish it standing, but if it does go three rounds, it’s going to be three rounds of awesome.”
When Hao is in a fight camp, he’s rarely home. Fighting doesn’t pay all the bills just yet, so training bookends his day. When he’s home, it’s mostly just for sleeping.
“I’m so lucky to have a family that supports me,” Hao said, commending the efforts of his wife Alexus Caires-Hao and his daughters for picking up the slack when he’s training. “They have been the biggest thing for me during this journey. I couldn’t have made it this far without them.”
Hao has been training with a heavy heart, with his mother passing away recently.
“She never had the chance to watch one of my fights,” Hao said. “It’s been motivating, thinking of making her proud. It helps me push myself harder when things get hard.”
Hao also had some high praise for Bellator for keeping local fighters in mind when coming to Hawaii.
“It’s so awesome. You get to see so many different skill sets,” Hao said of the tryout. “A lot of people are trying to make it from here, so for them to be able to put on an event like the tryout is really cool.”
The Bellator weekend in Hawaii is highlighted by undefeated women’s flyweight champ and Hawaii native Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (10-0) defending her title against Kate Jackson (11-3-1),
Bellator Hawaii: Macfarlane vs. Jackson will stream live exclusively on DAZN at 5 p.m. HST, while preliminary action will stream on Bellator.com, DAZN and globally on the Bellator Mobile App. The day prior, Bellator and the USO Present: Salute the Troops will air on Paramount Network on Dec. 20.
Those planning to purchase tickets to the fight can use the offer code “HAO” to show support for the Kona fighter.