Bellator 236’s Macfarlane Riding An Emotional Roller Coaster

Esther Lin

Bellator 236: “Macfarlane vs. Jackson” takes place tomorrow night (Sat., Dec. 21, 2019) at Neil S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii, streaming exclusively on DAZN at 9 p.m. ET. Undefeated women’s Flyweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (10-0) is looking for another emotional title defense in front of her biggest fans at home at the expense of Kate Jackson (11-3-1).

“She is beauty, she is grace” and she’ll punch you in the face. Macfarlane may be best known for her devastating submission victories (60 percent), but as her last fight with Veta Arteaga showed, striking is an ever improving part of her game. Finishing a fight via doctor’s stoppage may not satisfy bloodthirsty fans, but it’s just as valid as making someone tap out on the mat.

She will definitely need to “slice and dice” against Jackson. With only one loss in her last nine bouts, Jackson is a durable and classically-trained English fighter who excels at striking, scoring 55 percent of her wins (six of 11) by knockout. While Macfarlane’s obvious strengths lead you to believe she’ll look for a submission, never rule out a stand up war.

MMAmania.com recently chatted with Macfarlane about returning to Hawaii for another title defense and how she feels Jackson is her equal when it comes to the ground game.