Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane could be out for a while thanks to the damage her friend, Liz Carmouche, did to her knee at Bellator 300.
Bellator 300 took place this past Saturday at Pechanga Arena in San Diego and featured 16 fights.
On Monday, MMA Junkie acquired a list of athlete medical suspensions from the California State Athletic Commission, the sanctioning body that oversaw the event.
Check out the full list of medical suspensions from Bellator 300 below.
Find out how much weight all 32 fighters at Bellator 300 gained from the Friday morning official weigh-ins to Saturday night fights.
In California, fighters have their weights checked on the day of competition – not just when they have to hit their marks on the scale.
In 2017, the California State Athletic Commission put a plan in place to try to cut back on excessive weight cutting. Within those rules was a cap on how much a fighter could gain from the official weigh-ins to the fight.
If a fighter gained more than 10 percent back before the bout, the commission then could make a recommendation that he or she move to a higher weight class. If a fighter gained more than 15 percent, the commission had plans in place to potentially cancel fights.
At Bellator 300, which took place this past Saturday in San Diego, 14 of the 32 fighters on the card gained more than 10 percent of their weight back. Three of those 14 exceeded the 15 percent threshold. MMA Junkie obtained a list of fight-night weights Monday from the CSAC.
Check out the weight gains and percentages for all 32 fighters on the card at Pechanga Arena.
Check out all the facts and figures from Bellator 300, which saw Usman Nurmagomedov, Cris Cyborg and Liz Carmouche exit as champs.
The landmark Bellator 300 event took place Saturday at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, and all three champions who entered the event left with the belts around their waists.
[autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (18-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) retained his lightweight belt in the main event and advanced to the grand prix final, [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag]’s (27-2 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) continued her dominant legacy to retain women’s featherweight gold in the co-headliner, and women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag]’s (20-7 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) scored a stoppage in the main card opener.
For more on the numbers to come out of the event, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 300.
Cris Cyborg led the list of Bellator 300 fighters who earned six figures.
SAN DIEGO – Five of the six Bellator 300 main-card participants earned a disclosed payout of $150,000, with [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] earning twice that amount.
California State Athletic Commission executive director Andy Foster released a full list of fighter purses Saturday to MMA Junkie. The amounts reflect the disclosed payouts only and do not include any off-contract bonuses, sponsor payments or discretionary bonuses.
Lightweight champion [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag], [autotag]Brent Primus[/autotag], [autotag]Cat Zingano[/autotag], flyweight champ [autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag], and [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] each took home $150,000, while women’s featherweight champ Cyborg earned $300,000. All six fighters earned a flat amount as opposed to being paid show money and win money.
Scroll below to see what the 32 fighters to compete at Bellator 300 were paid – disclosed amounts only.
This was likely not how Liz Carmouche wanted to finish the fight, by sending her friend off on a stretcher at Bellator 300. But it was unavoidable.
SAN DIEGO – Bellator president Scott Coker figured the friendship between flyweight champion [autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag] and [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] would go out the window once the bell rang in their Bellator 300 fight.
It wasn’t quite like that – but in the end, one of them was taken off on a stretcher.
Carmouche (20-7 MMA, 7-0 BMMA), who wasn’t at risk of losing her title after Macfarlane (13-3 MMA, 12-3 BMMA) missed weight, earned a surprising fifth-round TKO victory to retain her belt Saturday night at Pechanga Arena that, at times, resembled a glorified sparring session – at least in the beginning.
Round 1 saw the two friends mostly just circle each other, with Macfarlane initiating most of the offense, although nothing significant ever landed. Prior to Round 2, referee Blake Grice brought both women to the center of the cage to encourage action, but it didn’t exactly resonate.
It wasn’t until Round 3 that things took a turn once Carmouche found a home for leg kicks that Macfarlane had trouble defending. Carmouche landed several of them, which showed visible damage on Macfarlane’s left leg. That continued into Round 4, with a Carmouche leg kick dropping Macfarlane to the canvas, but the champ didn’t rush in for a finish and let her friend back up. Some more leg kicks had Macfarlane nearly hopping on one leg, but she made it to the end of the round hobbling back to her corner.
Just 17 seconds into the fifth, Carmouche landed one more leg kick as Macfarlane closed distance, and this one buckled the challenger for good and forced Grice to stop the fight.
Given what was said leading up to the fight, it likely wasn’t the way Carmouche would’ve liked the fight to end but was unavoidable.
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Up-to-the-minute Bellator 300 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 300.
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane showered praise on her good friend Liz Carmouche for being understanding about missing weight for Bellator 300.
[autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] will no longer be fighting for the Bellator gold after missing weight Friday morning. Her good friend Liz Carmouche, who is also her good friend, didn’t hold it against her.
The two friends were set to compete for the Bellator women’s flyweight title on the main card of Bellator 300, but it has since become a one-way title fight after Macfarlane(13-2 MMA, 12-2 BMMA) weighed in at 126.6 pounds. Carmouche (19-7 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) can retain her title with a win or a draw, but the title will be vacated if Macfarlane emerges victorious in the five-round bout.
Macfarlane, a former champion at flyweight, didn’t hesitate to let her friend know that there would be an issue at the scale. Carmouche did not respond well when her previous opponent DeAnna Bennett missed weight for their Bellator 294 title fight in April. However, in this instance, the bond between two good friends was not going to be broken over numbers on a scale.
“First person I told when I knew I was going to miss weight, and what did she say? She said she loves me, wants me to be healthy, and asked if I wanted to use her sauna,” Macfarlane wrote on Instagram.
Read Macfarlane’s full statement below (via Instagram):
https://www.instagram.com/p/CyEi_iiSlde/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
First person I told when I knew I was going to miss weight and what did she say? She said she loves me wants me to be healthy and asked if I wanted to use her sauna 😭. Words can express how much this person means to me or what an absolute gangster she is for still taking this fight despite me fucking it up. We’ve been through hell and back together and can say without a doubt she is my sister wife for life. #boop
After the drama of the official weigh-ins settled, the friendship between Macfarlane and Carmouche was on full display at ceremonial weigh-ins, as the two could hardly hold back smiles and laughter during their final faceoff.
Friends turned foes collide in San Diego. @iamgirlrilla (124.8) looks to make her third successful title defense. Challenger @ilimanator (126.6) misses championship weight meaning that she cannot win the title.
👊 #Bellator300
📺 SATURDAY, 10pm ET/7pm PT on @SHOsports 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/aDQaRU5CDA— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) October 6, 2023
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 300.
MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the Bellator 300 women’s title fight between friends Liz Carmouche and Ilima-Lei Macfarlane.
MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down MMA’s top bouts. Today, we look at the featured flyweight title fight for Bellator 300.
Bellator 300 takes place Saturday at Pechanga Arena in San Diego. The main card, which features three title fights, airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Veteran Jason Herzog is among the referees assigned to oversee three title fights at Bellator 300 in San Diego.
Referees and judges for the three Bellator 300 title fights have been assigned.
California State Athletic Commission executive officer Andy Foster informed MMA Junkie of the assignments for the event, which takes place Saturday at Pechanga Arena in San Diego. The three title-fight main card airs on Showtime after prelims streamed on MMA Junkie.
Lightweight champion [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (17-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Brent Primus[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 10-3 BMMA) in the designated headliner. The fight, which also serves as a grand prix semifinal, will be officiated by referee Jason Herzog, with Derek Cleary, Ron McCarthy and Chris Leben serving as judges.
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In the night’s co-headliner, women’s featherweight champ [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] (26-2 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) defends her belt against [autotag]Cat Zingano[/autotag] (14-4 MMA, 4-0 BMMA). Referee Frank Trigg will be the third person in the cage while judges Chris Crail, Eliot Kelly and Cleary score the fight from cageside.
The third featured title fight pits friends and former teammates against each other as flyweight champ [autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag] (19-7 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) puts her title on the line against ex-champ [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 12-2 BMMA). Blake Grice will serve as referee while judges Bryan Miner, Felicia Oh and McCarthy score the bout.
Bellator 300 is the first event in the promotion’s history to feature three title fights. The event originally had four, but a rematch between heavyweight champ Ryan Bader and Linton Vassell was scrapped after Vassell withdrew earlier this week because of an undisclosed illness.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 300.
Yes, Bellator champ Liz Carmouche and Ilima-Lei Macfarlane are friends, but don’t expect them to be friendly once they step in the cage.
SAN DIEGO – Friends and former teammates competing against each other is common in sports. Take the NFL, for example, where each Sunday players are always up against guys with whom they used to share the locker room.
Like MMA, football is a violent sport. Unlike MMA, there is no intent to injure with every tackle – only to bring the ball carrier down to the turf.
And therein lies the rub, the main reason why friends and training partners from the same gym don’t like to compete against each other in MMA. The whole point is to hurt your opponent with every strike.
Bellator flyweight champion [autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag] and [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag], however, view things differently ahead of their title fight Saturday at Bellator 300.
“Maybe I’m like a different kind of fighter, but I don’t go into my fights purposefully trying to hurt the other person,” Macfarlane said Wednesday at the Bellator 300 pre-event news conference. “So it’s really not a different mindset for me, the fact that I’m facing a friend and somebody I care about, because I don’t ever want to hurt, hurt somebody. This is our lives. These are our bodies and our health. It really doesn’t change the mindset for me.”
Added Carmouche: “It’s definitely a different element. We’re not looking to maim people, to take them out of their careers. That’s the last thing we want to do, and it’s nothing different here. The benefit we have is we know we’re gonna throw down, and it’s no malintent. There’s no cheating going on. I can rest assured there’s not some sneaky stuff where she’s fish-hooking me in the mouth and all these other things.”
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Wednesday’s news conference and ensuing faceoff was filled with smiles and giggles from both Carmouche (19-7 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) and Macfarlane (13-2 MMA, 12-2 BMMA), who go way back as teammates at 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu in San Diego. Carmouche, now at The Arena in San Diego, and Macfarlane are excited to square off for Bellator gold.
And while they’ve gone at each other before in training, it’s never been at 100 percent, which is something Macfarlane relishes.
“I’m not sure if we’ve ever gone super hundred percent before,” Macfarlane said. “That’s what makes it fun and exciting to look forward to, just really feeling each other’s true, true power.”
Much has been made about the fact that Carmouche and Macfarlane once spent countless hours training each other for fights and who could use that to their advantage Saturday night. But both believe it’s been long enough – “two years at least,” according to Macfarlane – since they’ve trained together that their history is irrelevant from a strategy standpoint.
“If anything, I know her physical power,” Macfarlane said. “That’s something that’s never gonna leave her. I know that side of her. But as far as what she does in fights, she’s constantly improving and changing.”
Added Carmouche: “We have the benefit of showing up Saturday night with new people, in front of each other, to show new games we have on the line to impress everybody with.”
The bond Carmouche and Macfarlane share was evident Wednesday. They are, indeed, still good friends, but they won’t be friendly Saturday night. Bellator president Scott Coker expects any sentimental feelings to fade away once they step in the cage.
“I feel like it’s all gonna be friendly until the bell rings, and then I think they’re gonna go at it,” Coker said. “Once somebody gets punched in the face, it’s all over and then it’s gonna be on. Friendship is one thing, but this is a competitive fight at the highest level. This is a world championship fight, and I think it’s gonna be great.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 300.
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Bellator’s three title fights start with a storyline straight out of a movie. Check out the Liz Carmouche and Ilima-Lei Macfarlane faceoff.
SAN DIEGO – The trio of title fights at Bellator 300 starts with a showdown storyline straight out of a movie.
Women’s flyweight champion [autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag] (19-7 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) takes on longtime teammate, friend and former titleholder [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 12-2 BMMA). It’s one of three title fights on the main card of the historic show.
Wednesday, Carmouche and Macfarlane took questions from the media at a pre-fight news conference at the host hotel. They were joined by Bellator president Scott Coker, the other four title fighters and former fighter Chael Sonnen, who served as the event’s emcee.
Check out the Carmouche-Macfarlane faceoff in the video above. Bellator 300 takes place Saturday at Pechanga Arena in San Diego. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 300.
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