Kimura to make UFC debut next month

Honolulu’s Dustin Kimura will make his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut against Chico Camus at UFC 156 on Feb. 2 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

Kimura has won all nine of his fights since turning pro, including his first eight in Hawaii. He scored a third-round knockout in his most recent fight in the Philippines in November, helping earn him a shot with the biggest mixed martial arts organization in the world.

The fight will take place at 135 pounds and will likely be broadcast on the UFC’s Facebook page.

Camus is 12-3 overall and won his only UFC fight by unanimous decision last August.

UH hoops hits academic benchmark

Hawaii announced Tuesday that its men’s basketball team hit its highest average cumulative GPA on record of 2.92, going back about 12 years of tracking. The team mark included a 2.89 GPA for the recent fall semester, which was the second-highest term on record next to the team’s 3.06 during the spring of 2002.

"We’ve taken some hits in the athletic department, and the guys (players) who are leaving, we’re quick to jump on that," coach Gib Arnold said. "How about the guys who are staying and coming? They’re taking care of business on and off the court. That’s a quality thing."

Arnold thanked the team’s academic support staff — Kari Ambrozich, Jim Gillespie and Jenny Matsuda, in particular.