Bellator 236: Another Macfarlane Homecoming Win

For the second year in a row, Ilima-Lei Macfarlane headlined Bellator’s two-event weekend in Hawaii. And for the second year in a row, she successfully retained the Bellator women’s flyweight championship, this time defeating Kate Jackson in the main event of Bellator 236.

Another near-perfect @ilimanator performance capped by a perfect Mauro Ranallo moment 🎙 pic.twitter.com/Z2e9qRR1og

— DAZN USA (@DAZN_USA) December 22, 2019

Macfarlane, who describes herself as a slow starter, dominated the outing, scoring multiple takedowns and controlling the action from the get-go.

Macfarlane got a takedown in the opening round, out-grappling Jackson and busting her nose open. Jackson fought back some in the second round, as the two grappled for control. Jackson landed some elbows, but Macfarlane scored another takedown with 90 seconds left in the round.

.@Ilimanator lands a convincing takedown late in round two!#Bellator236 #BellatorHawaii pic.twitter.com/HARhQOoAqM

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) December 22, 2019

The two traded strikes in the third before Macfarlane got another takedown. The Hawaiian hero scored yet another takedown in the fourth, and the round’s end saw her take Jackson’s back and nearly secure an armbar.

NO. ONE. IS. LETTING. UP. IN. ROUND. FOUR.

This is a war and neither @KPAjackson nor @Ilimanator are going to go easy.#Bellator236 #BellatorHawaii pic.twitter.com/zdpkIcR8oS

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) December 22, 2019

Macfarlane then put an exclamation point on her title defense by taking Jackson down, getting mount and throwing severe ground-and-pound that nearly put a halt to the contest in the closing seconds.

Macfarlane swept the judges’ scorecards — 50-45, 50-44, 50-44.

In the co-main event, A.J. McKee became the first fighter to advance to the Featherweight Grand Prix semifinals with a win over Derek Campos.

McKee tried to bring a flashy style at the start, missing a flying knee and eating a shot from Campos. But once McKee got the fight to the ground, he took control. McKee then started round two by knocking Campos down, but Campos was the one who got a takedown in the round, though McKee outworked him from the bottom.

McKee put things away in the third with an armbar to force a submission.

.@ajmckee101 moves to 16-0 & one step close to $1,000,000! #FeatherweightWGP pic.twitter.com/HjGUjRYeZg

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) December 22, 2019

Bellator 236 Results (DAZN, 10 p.m. ET)

Bellator women’s flyweight championship: (c.) Ilima-Lei Macfarlane def. Kate Jackson (50-45, 50-44, 50-44)

Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix quarterfinal bout: A.J. McKee def. Derek Campos via submission (armbar) (Rd. 3, 1:08)

Jason Jackson def. Kiichi Kunimoto via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Juliana Velasquez def. Bruna Ellen via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

Raufeon Stots def. Cheyden Leialoha via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)

Zach Zane def. Nainoa Dung via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)