Bellator 236 – Page 5 – Syndication Server

Bellator 236 discussion thread

Bellator 236 takes place Saturday in Hawaii, and you can discuss the event here.

HONOLULU – MMA Junkie is on scene and reporting live from Saturday’s Bellator 236 event at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, which kicks off at 8:30 p.m. ET (5:30 p.m. PT). You can discuss the event here.

Be sure to follow along with the latest card updates in our Bellator 236 live results post, and then discuss the event in the comments section below.

Round-by-round updates and official results begin at approximately 8:30 p.m. ET for the preliminary card and 10 p.m. ET for the main card.

Bellator 236: Kiichi Kunimoto wants to finish short-notice replacement Jason Jackson

The Japanese fighter found out about his opponent change just five days ago.

HONOLULU – [autotag]Kiichi Kunimoto[/autotag] will be competing at Bellator 236, as expected.

Unexpectedly however, Kunimoto (20-8-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) is facing a fight week opponent switch-up, as Neiman Gracie pulled out of their scheduled bout due to injury earlier this week.

Now, Kunimoto will take on former LFA welterweight champ Jason Jackson (10-4 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) on the main card.

“About five days ago, I found out officially Neiman Gracie got injured,” Kunimoto told MMA Junkie on Thursday. “Of course, I was focusing to fight Neiman Gracie. In order to fight (Jackson), I had to change my mindset focusing on this opponent.”

A different opponent means different mental and physical preparations. After Gracie pulled out, Kunimoto began researching Jackson.

“Of course, I watched his last few fights,” Kunimoto said. “I tried to understand what’s his good areas and how I prepare for the fight… I just want to finish the fight.”

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Kunimoto has yet to pick up a win inside the Bellator cage. The UFC veteran has competed once under the promotion’s banner, losing to Ed Ruth in July.

Bellator 236 takes place Saturday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Check out MMA Junkie’s full pre-fight scrum with Kiichi Kunimoto in the video above.

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Bellator 235: Alejandra Lara full post-fight interview

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Bellator 235: Joey Davis full post-fight interview

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Jason Jackson thinks he has Kiichi Kunimoto figured out before Bellator 236 short-notice fight

Jason Jackson speaks to MMA Junkie about his short-notice call-up to face Kiichi Kunimoto at Bellator 236.

HONOLULU – When Neiman Gracie withdrew from his Bellator 236 bout with Kiichi Kunimoto, Bellator officials picked up the phone and called [autotag]Jason Jackson[/autotag], who was more than happy to accept. Now Jackson plans on using his short-notice call-up to bounce back into the win column and make some inroads into Bellator’s welterweight division.

Jackson (10-4, 1-1 BMMA) ended up on the wrong end of a split decision against Ed Ruth at Bellator 231, and the Hard Knocks 365 athlete is determined to leave no doubt this time around as he takes on Kunimoto (20-8-2, 0-1 BMMA) on just one week’s notice.

While some fighters find short-notice matchups a big challenge as they scramble to gather as much intel as possible on their opponents, Jackson said he had no such problems scouting former UFC and RIZIN competitor Kunimoto, saying: “It took me two minutes to figure him out.”

Check out Jackson’s full pre-fight media day interview with MMA Junkie above.

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Bellator 236 weigh-in highlights: Ilima-Lei Macfarlane gives Kate Jackson the lei treatment in Hawaii

Check out the ceremonial weigh-in highlights from Bellator 236 in Honolulu, which features Ilima-Lei Macfarlane vs. Kate Jackson.

HONOLULU – The weigh-ins for the second of Bellator’s back-to-back fights in Hawaii are in the books.

Undefeated women’s flyweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (10-0 MMA, 9-0 BMMA) got face to face with her latest challenger, Kate Jackson (11-3-1 MMA, 3-1 BMMA), for one final time before their Saturday main event.

At Friday’s ceremonial weigh-ins in Honolulu, Macfarlane, a native of the city, presented Jackson with a traditional flower lei before they squared off.

In addition to that headlining title bout, Derek Campos (20-9 MMA, 9-7 BMMA) meets A.J. McKee (15-0 MMA, 15-0 BMMA) in the quarterfinals of the ongoing featherweight grand prix.

Check out the faceoffs for those fights and the rest of the six-fight main card in the video above. Bellator 236 takes place Saturday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

4 burning questions heading into Bellator 236

MMA Junkie’s Simon Head takes a look at the key narratives ahead of Bellator 236 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The second half of Bellator’s Hawaii doubleheader sees Bellator 236 take place at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu as Hawaii’s own [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] bids to complete her fourth successful defense of the Bellator women’s flyweight title.

The card also features the first quarterfinal bout in the Bellator featherweight grand prix, as [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] takes on [autotag]Derek Campos[/autotag], while a host of rising prospects look to make their mark with performances to match their spectacular setting.

Here are our four burning questions ahead of Saturday night’s fights.

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Will Ilima-Lei Macfarlane keep her gold?

Ilima-Lei Macfarlane has been the poster girl for Bellator ever since she captured the women’s flyweight title at Bellator 186 back in November 2017, and since then she has cemented her status as the organization’s top 125-pounder with a hat-trick of third-round finishes.

Now she takes on seasoned veteran and British female MMA pioneer [autotag]Kate Jackson[/autotag], who is bidding to make history in her homeland by becoming the first British female to capture a major MMA title.

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Jackson booked her place in Saturday’s main event with a first-round finish of Lena Ovchynnikova, and will look to spring a shock against Macfarlane, who has finished every challenger to cross her path as Bellator champion.

Will Jackson be the first challenger to push Macfarlane to the limit, or will the defending champion produce another impressive display and claim a fourth straight finish to send her fellow Hawaiians home happy?