Champ Ilima-Lei Macfarlane excited for ‘barn burner brawl’ in Bellator 220 title defense vs. Veta Arteaga
Ilima Lei-Macfarlane is not only the Bellator women’s flyweight champion, she has also become one of the faces and stars of the organization. That means the target on her back is only going to get bigger, and that makes Macfarlane very excited.
“The Iliminator” spoke with MyMMANews.com to discuss her upcoming title defense against top contender Veta Arteaga this Saturday night at Bellator 220. The women’s flyweight title bout will serve as the co-main event of the evening at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. Fans in the United States can watch the event exclusively on DAZN.
Macfarlane discusses the matchup with Arteaga, how fight week has been for her, knowing that Arteaga would be her next opponent before she got the call, what she took away from meeting boxing great Canelo Alvarez, what she is doing to evolve as a person and a mixed martial artist, why she feels this title defense will be a “barn burner brawl”, how fans can expect some new tools in her arsenal, and what challenges await her if all goes well.
The unbeaten champion also gives a brief breakdown about how she feels the welterweight title main event between Rory MacDonald and Jon Fitch may go down in San Jose.
Check out the entire interview in the video above.
Full Bellator 220 fight card:
Main Card, DAZN, 10 p.m. EST
- Rory MacDonald vs. Jon Fitch – welterweight title fight
- Ilima-Lei Macfarlane vs. Veta Arteaga – women’s flyweight title fight
- Benson Henderson vs. Adam Piccolotti
- Liam McGeary vs. Phil Davis
- Gaston Bolanos vs. Nathan Stolen
Preliminary card, 7:30 p.m. EST
- Diego Herzog vs. Jordan Williams
- Tom Ponce De Leon vs. Jamario Mulder
- Justin Tenedora vs. Matthew Perez
- Abraham Vaesau vs. Justin Roswell
- Aviv Gozali vs. Travis Crain
- Josh San Diego vs. Brandon Laroco
- Boris Novachkov vs. Chris Inocencio
- Ignacio Ortiz vs. Roger Severson
- Chris Avila vs. Brandon Faumui
- Chuck Campbell vs. Bruno Casillas
- Cass Bell vs. Peter Ishiguro
- Hyder Amil vs. Paradise Vaovasa
- Erik Gunha vs. Jon Adams
