Tag: Ilima-Lei Macfarlane

Video: Watch Bellator 300 pre-fight press conference on MMA Junkie

Bellator 300 takes place Friday in San Diego. Watch a live stream of the pre-event news conference with three title fights at 4 p.m. ET.

SAN DIEGO – Bellator 300 takes place Friday at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, and you can watch a live video stream of the pre-event news conference here on MMA Junkie at 4 p.m. ET.

The press conference takes place at the Bellator host hotel in San Diego. The media event will be hosted by Chael Sonnen, as well as Bellator President Scott Coker.

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). Women’s featherweight champ [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] (26-2 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) meets [autotag]Cat Zingano[/autotag] (14-4 MMA, 4-0 BMMA). And lightweight champ [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (17-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) puts his belt on the line against ex-champ [autotag]Brent Primus[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 10-3 BMMA) to close out the three title fights on the main card.

Check out the press conference and subsequent faceeoffs in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 300.

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Bellator 300 pre-event facts: Strong stats behind title-fight triple header

Check out all the facts and figures about Bellator 300, which takes place Saturday and features three championship bouts.

Perhaps the final monumental event in Bellator history takes place Saturday with Bellator 300, which goes down at Pechanga Arena in San Diego with a main card that airs on Showtime following prelims streamed on MMA Junkie.

Three championship fights will top the bill, with the lightweight, women’s featherweight and women’s flyweight belts all on the line in what the promotion is dubbing as a “triple main event.”

For more on the numbers behind each bout, as well as other notable bouts on the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about Bellator 300.

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Video: Which champions retain (if any) at Bellator 300?

The tricentennial Bellator event takes place Saturday at Pechanga Arena in San Diego and features three title fights.

Bellator 300 is just days away – a milestone event for the promotion that will transpire in its most uncertain of times.

While it’s unclear how long Bellator will be around for, it’s tricentennial event features three title fights after a fourth, Ryan Bader vs. Linton Vassell was canceled Tuesday. The remaining title fights include [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Brent Primus[/autotag], [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Linton Vassell[/autotag], and [autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag].

The event takes place Saturday at Pechanga Arena in San Diego with a main card on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.

Which champions will retain (if any)? Which will lose (if any)?

MMA Junkie’s “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Dan Tom, and Danny Segura joined host George Garcia to break it all down.

Watch their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s full “Spinning Back Clique” episode below on YouTube or in podcast form.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Aug. 7-13)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by a promotion from Aug. 7-13.

Bellator 300: Historic event set for Oct. 7 in San Diego with 4 title fights

Bellator 300 finally has a date and location, as well as a historic main card with four title fights.

Bellator 300 finally has a date and location, as well as a historic main card.

The event is set for Oct. 7 at Pechanga Arena in San Diego and will feature four title fights. The promotion is saying Bellator 300 will have four main events, but atop the card will be heavyweight champion [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag] against challenger [autotag]Linton Vassell[/autotag].

In addition, women’s featherweight champ [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] takes on challenger [autotag]Cat Zingano[/autotag], lightweight titleholder [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] meets former champ [autotag]Brent Primus[/autotag], and in a long-discussed matchup, women’s flyweight champ [autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag] will put her title on the line against her good friend, training partner and former champ, [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag].

Bellator officials announced the card Wednesday. The event date, location and lightweight title fight first were reported by BJPenn.com. The additional three title fights were announced on “The MMA Hour” ahead of a Bellator news release. The main card will air on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

“When I first joined Bellator, we set out to sign and develop the best available talent in the world and produce events for massive audiences,” Bellator president Scott Coker said in a press release. “Our first tentpole event was Bellator 131 in San Diego, and we couldn’t be more excited to return to that very same arena for this monumental Bellator 300 event.

“We wanted to give the fans and supporters an epic night of fights and there is no better way to do that than showcasing these four incredible champions all putting their belts on the line. I’m proud of the all the work we have done to grow this brand and its athletes since I came on board. I can’t wait for Bellator 300, which is going to be the biggest event in the history of Bellator MMA.”

Former two-division champ Bader (31-7 MMA, 9-2 BMMA) lost the light heavyweight title in 2020, but has held onto the heavyweight belt. After he was knocked out by Corey Anderson in the 205-pound tournament in 2021, he has three straight heavyweight title wins over Valentin Moldavsky, Cheick Kongo and Fedor Emelianenko.

The fight against Vassell will be a rematch of a Bader win at Bellator 186 in November 2017, which Bader won with a second-round TKO to defend his light heavyweight title. Now Vassell will try again, but a weight class up.

Vassell, who is all of four days older than Bader, lost his first fight at heavyweight in 2019, but has been on a tear since then with five straight wins and four stoppages in the division. In March, he knocked out Moldavsky in the first round.

Cyborg (26-2 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) re-signed with Bellator earlier this year after she tested the free agency market. Ultimately, she decided to stay put, but stayed at least a busy boxing. But now she’ll have a grudge match with Zingano. Cyborg is considered one of the best women’s fighters in history and has held titles for Bellator, the UFC, Strikeforce and Invicta.

Zingano (14-4 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) has been waiting for a shot at Cyborg since she signed with Bellator after a lengthy run in the UFC. She’s been perfect out of the gate and now will get her first shot at a title since she challenged Ronda Rousey at UFC 184 in 2015. Her resume already includes wins over Amanda Nunes and Miesha Tate, and a win over Cyborg would be a legacy-defining moment.

Nurmagomedov, a cousin over former UFC lightweight champion Khabib, won the title in November 2022 against then-champ Patricky Freire. In March, he submitted former UFC and WEC champ Benson Henderson for his first successful title defense in the quarterfinals of the tournament.

Primus (12-3 MMA, 10-3 BMMA) was on the outside looking in when the tournament started, but stepped in as a late replacement alternate. Then he silenced the crowd in Paris with a unanimous decision over local French fan favorite Mansour Barnaoui at Bellator 296. He beat Michael Chandler for the title in 2017, and an upset of Nurmagomedov would give him the belt back and put him in a $1 million title defense in the final.

And finally, Carmouche (19-7 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) and Macfarlane (13-2 MMA, 12-2 BMMA) get their dream matchup. Macfarlane has said she wants to win back the flyweight belt she used to hold, then retire. To do it, it’ll have to come against her good friend and longtime training partner.

Carmouche defended the title against DeAnna Bennett in the Bellator 294 main event in April in Honolulu. The next night, Macfarlane took a split decision from Kana Watanabe in front of her home fans to set up the fight between the two. Carmouche has been unstoppable since she signed with Bellator. Macfarlane has bounced back from the first two losses of her career with wins over Bruna Ellen and Watanabe.

There have been reports that Bellator may be on the cusp of being acquired from Paramount, and the strongest rumored bidder has been the PFL. Further speculation has been that Bellator 300 could be the promotion’s final event before a merger.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 300.

Scott Coker eyes Liz Carmouche vs. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane title fight for late 2023: ‘We have to do that fight’

Bellator president Scott Coker says Liz Carmouche vs. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane is next.

HONOLULU – We’re just hours away from [autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag]’s latest title defense, and it looks like there’s already another one on the horizon.

Bellator president [autotag]Scott Coker[/autotag] says former champion [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] is next in line following the pair of events this weekend in Hawaii; Bellator 294 on Friday and Bellator 295 on Saturday.

Carmouche (19-7 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) successfully defended her women’s flyweight belt against DeAnna Bennett, submitting her with an arm triangle in the fourth round of their Bellator 294 main event. In the co-main event of Bellator 295, Macfarlane (13-2 MMA, 12-2 BMMA) edged Japan’s Kana Watanabe in a split decision.

Coker says the next step is a championship bout between the two teammates.

“The first step for her is to fight Liz Carmouche,” Coker told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the Bellator 295 post-fight news conference. “That’s the top priority. By winning this fight against Watanabe, who’s extremely competitive and skilled, a lot of folks thought it could go either way. It was a tight fight, but given the decision, it puts her on the sights of Liz, and we have to do that fight.

“Do we do it here? I don’t know because the Blaisdell is being closed for remodeling. We’ll talk to Stan Sheriff (Center) and see what’s available, but that fight we can put anywhere. That’s a bigtime fight and those two girls have had great runs in their Mixed Martial Arts career, and we would love to promote that fight at the end of the year.”

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Macfarlane, a Hawaii native, is always looking to fight on her home island, if possible. But due to the circumstances relating to the availability of the arena, that may not be in the cards. Coker believes that shouldn’t be an issue and the two parties will work things out.

“We’re a fight company that needs to continue to put fights, so if we can’t get into Stan Sheriff, and we can’t come here, what are you going to do? Wait another two years while it remodels?,” Coker said. “It’s something that we’ll have dialogue. We have a good relationship with these athletes, and we’ll have a conversation and do our best to accommodate her.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 295.

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Ilima-Lei Macfarlane makes one final pitch for flyweight grand prix after Bellator 295 win

Ilima-Lei Macfarlane thought she was ready for a title fight, and that’s it, but apparently she’ll take more if Bellator would oblige.

HONOLULU – [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] thought she knew exactly how she wanted to end her career. She wanted a flyweight title fight against her friend and former training partner, Liz Carmouche, and that’s what she called for inside the cage after her hard-fought unanimous decision win over Kana Watanabe on Saturday at Bellator 295.

Then Macfarlane (13-2 MMA, 12-2 BMMA) was asked about a possible Bellator flyweight grand prix during her post-fight news conference and with some time to think things through, her mind changed.

“Yeah, Uncle Scott, we want to do a frickin’ grand prix,” Macfarlane told MMA Junkie and other reporters, addressing Bellator president Scott Coker. “Now that you guys are done with the bantamweight (grand prix) – congrats, Patchy – let’s do it. We haven’t done a women’s grand prix in any division, and I think it just makes sense that the flyweight division is the way to go. I’ve been calling for one since 2019, I think. Yeah, I think that would be super cool.”

Macfarlane, who was the inaugural Bellator flyweight champ with four title defenses to her credit, entered fight week already talking about retirement, specifically hoping that fight could take place in Hawaii before the year ends.

As it turns out, that timeline is flexible if it means partaking in a grand prix.

“I would be down. A million dollars is pretty sweet,” said Macfarlane, who won her second fight in a row. “To be honest, I have been thinking about retirement more seriously, because I do want to start a family soon. But a million dollars does sound pretty cool, so I can put baby making on hold for that. …

“I should’ve called that out on the mic, but I was staring at Liz. So, let’s do a grand prix.”

It’s more likely that Macfarlane will get her original wish of a title fight with Carmouche, which is what Coker said he expects to happen. Macfarlane said she feels good physically coming out of her win over Watanabe.

So if that is the case, she’d like that to happen sooner than later.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 295.

Bellator 295 results: Ilima-Lei Macfarlane ekes out win over Kana Watanabe, calls for fight vs. ‘sister wife’ Liz Carmouche

Ilima-Lei Macfarlane and Liz Carmouche are longtime friends and training partners – but they may fight each other for the Bellator title next.

[autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] encountered a challenge Saturday, but eked out a close split decision victory.

In the Bellator 295 co-main event, Macfarlane (13-2 MMA, 12-2 BMMA) used strong grappling, submission threats, and striking defeat Kana Watanabe (11-2-1 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28). The event took place at Neal S. Blaisdell Center.

The crowd was firmly behind their own, as Macfarlane walked out to traditional Hawaiian music, draped in native garb, as has become the norm for her bouts at home.

The fight was largely a grapple-heavy affair. Both women spent time in advantageous positions. Macfarlane found success on the feet early, but Watanabe tied her up against the fence and threatened an armbar when the fight hit the canvas. Watanabe was sliced open early. She scored another brief takedown on Macfarlane, who got back up.

Round 2 consisted mostly of Watanabe in control, heavy on top. Macfarlane tried strikes from the bottom but was largely unable to keep Watanabe at bay.

Watanabe took Macfarlane down twice in Round 3, once via throw. Macfarlane rose back up both times. In the final minute, Macfarlane landed some strikes before the final horn. The Honolulu crowd was enthused upon the judges’ announcement.

With the win, Macfarlane aligns herself as a potential next title challenger to champion Liz Carmouche, who defeated DeAnna Bennett on Friday at Bellator 294.

Macfarlane and Carmouche are longtime training partners and friends. Carmouche was cage-side to watch the event and visibly cheered for Macfarlane throughout the fight.

“We knew this day was coming,” Macfarlane said in the cage afterward. “It was going to come eventually. … I would love for my last fight to be against Liz right over there.”

Macfarlane, 33, indicated her next fight will be her last – and she wants it to be in Hawaii. Macfarlane advances her winning streak to two, also including an August decision win over Bruna Ellen.

Watanabe loses for the second time in her pro career and falls to 1-2 in her most recent three. Her other career loss was a 35-second TKO defeat to Carmouche in 2021.

Up-to-the-minute Bellator 295 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 295.

Kana Watanabe: Ilima-Lei Macfarlane ‘a really good grappler, but I’m also confident in my grappling’

“She’s a really good grappler, but I’m also confident in my grappling.”

HONOLULU – [autotag]Kana Watanabe[/autotag] isn’t afraid to hit the ground with [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag].

Watanabe (11-1-1 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) meets former flyweight champion Macfarlane (12-2 MMA, 11-2 BMMA) in Saturday’s Bellator 295 co-main event at Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Macfarlane ruled the flyweight division for two years with four title defenses. Despite her opponent’s experience, Watanabe says wherever the fight goes, she’ll be ready.

“She’s a really good grappler, but I’m also confident in my grappling,” Watanabe told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “If the fight turns into striking, that’s not a problem for me. … I’ve watched her past bouts a lot, and I’ve studied a lot her fighting styles and patterns, and I’m ready for it.”

Flyweight champion Liz Carmouche and her Bellator 294 title challenger DeAnna Bennett have expressed interest in fighting Watanabe. Carmouche and Watanabe already fought before. It took Carmouche just 35 seconds to score the TKO win at Bellator 261.

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Watanabe is happy to have her name linked to the title fight, and is ready to show her improvements when she faces Macfarlane.

“I’m very happy that Liz, the champion, is wishing for me to fight again with her,” Watanabe said. “I wasn’t able to show my own strength last time, so in the next match against her, I want to show my strength more… I’m planning to win this Saturday’s fight, so I’m very happy to fight whoever wins. It doesn’t matter if it’s Liz or DeAnna. I’m very happy to fight against the champion.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 295.

Bellator 295 pre-event facts: Ilima-Lei Macfarlane adds to records in Hawaii

Check out the numbers behind Bellator 295, where Hawaii’s own Ilima-Lei Macfarlane adds to her historic resume in Honolulu.

Bellator returns to Hawaii this weekend with two events in two nights, the second of which goes down Saturday at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu and airs on Showtime following prelims streaming on MMA Junkie.

Bellator 295 marks the second half of the doubleheader, and the event is headlined by the conclusion of the promotion’s bantamweight grand prix. Reigning interim titleholder [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag] (19-1 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) is set to take on [autotag]Patchy Mix[/autotag] (17-1 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) in the finals of the eight-man tournament, with the winner getting a $1 million prize.

For more on the numbers behind the main event, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about Bellator 295.