‘Is It Okay To Just Fight For Fun?!’

“I’m so happy doing what I’m doing now. I know that’s ‘bad,’ but I think I’ve been kind of like toying with the idea of … is it okay to just fight for fun and not have any desire to ‘go for it one last time’?”

Ilima-Lei Macfarlane has etched her name in the mixed martial arts (MMA) history books.

As one of Hawaii’s finest, Macfarlane, 33, has fought all but one of her 14 professional career bouts inside the Bellator cage. Macfarlane (12-2) managed to pick up her biggest wins along the way when the lights shined brightest, becoming the inaugural Flyweight champion.

The “Ilimantor” defended the title four times before falling to Brazil’s Juliana Velasquez in a hard-fought unanimous decision in Dec. 2021. It’s been a bit of a bumpy road since, dealing with injuries, a follow-up loss, and a tough weight miss in her most recent outing. Despite the aforementioned weight miss, Macfarlane managed to get back in the winner’s circle with a unanimous decision over Bruna Ellen. She’ll now put herself in a prime position for another crack at gold if she defeats Kana Watanabe at Bellator 295 this weekend (Sat., April 22, 2023) in her home of Honolulu, Hawaii.

Ultimately, Macfarlane has been there and done that as an MMA fighter. So, is being a titleholder again really all that important?

“I’m so happy doing what I’m doing now,” Macfarlane told MMA Mania. “I know that’s ‘bad,’ but I think I’ve been kind of like toying with the idea of … is it okay to just fight for fun and not have any desire to ‘go for it one last time’? Are we allowed to fight for fun and enjoy ourselves and do cool s—t like spread awareness for a cause you’re fighting for? Am I allowed to do that?

“I’m definitely in a different stage of my life. Period,” she continued. “Am I that 27-year-old girl that was f—king selling shirts out of the trunk of her car to try and pay rent and having all kinds of relational issues? Am I that 27-year-old girl that is like, ‘I need this belt’ or am I now a mature 33-year-old woman (laughs) that’s just like, ‘Yeah! This is fun.’ Let me train hard, let me finish my contract and we’ll see what happens. I don’t know.”

At Bellator 294 one night before (Fri., April 21, 2023) Macfarlane and Watanabe collide, the division’s title will be on the line when the current champion, Liz Carmouche, defends in a rematch with DeAnna Bennett. After Macfarlane’s clash with Watanabe, she believes there are two more fights left on her current contract, which would presumably act as the end of her career.

“I’ve been calling for this fight for a long time,” Macfarlane said. “I think we were matched at the beginning of 2021. I had just signed the bout agreement then my knee was just not [ready]. So that’s when I got surgery and I had to pull out of that fight.

“It’s been a fight that is a couple years in the making,” she continued. “We have very similar records, similar amount of fights, two of the best grapplers in the division — until Jena Bishop came along. Jena Bishop, f—king badass (laughs). So now we’re like some of the best grapplers in the division now that our division’s beefing up and growing. I think this is a super interesting match up and I’m excited to dance with her and feel her strength and see how our styles match up.”

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