Bellator’s Ilima Lei Macfarlane continues her reign in the ring and out

Undefeated Bellator female flyweight champ Ilima-Lei Macfarlane now (10-0) of 10th Planet San Diego Jiu Jitsu remains unbeatable.

Just in case you missed it, all 18 bouts on Saturday’s highly anticipated Bellator 220: MacDonald vs. Fitch fight card at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. were streamed live on DAZN and of special note, the two title fights that sat atop this fightcard, the Bellator welterweight champ Rory Mac Donald (20-5) defended his title against Jon Fitch (31-7-1, 1 NC) in the finals of their Welterweight World Grand Prix opening round, plus everyone’s favorite, the undefeated female flyweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane now (10-0) returned to dominate Veta Arteaga who now drops to (5-3) in the co-Main Event. This was Macfarlane’s third defense of her title.

With three former world champs appearing on the main card, Benson “Smooth” Henderson (26-8) from the MMA Lab taking on the Bay Area’s Adam Piccolotti (11-2) at lightweight, and Phil Davis (19-5, 1 NC) set to run it back with Liam McGeary (13-3) a light heavyweight clash, this was certainly a dandy fight card. Additionally, featherweight Gaston Bolanos (4-1) was looking forward to adding to his impressive highlight reel when he kicked off the main card against Nathan Stolen (8-4).

Preliminary action featured the U.S. debut of second-generation Israeli fighter Aviv Gozali now (2-0) after defeating Travis Crain with a rear-naked choke at 2:15 of Round #1. The 5’5″ tall Crain from Marion, Illinois was making his Pro Debut.

As if Ilima-Lei Macfarlane wasn’t busy enough, Bellator’s hierarchy approached the Hawaiian Princess to do the color commentary on their next show. And accepting this added chore, everyone was amazed at how well she did. Here are three of the photos we absconded from that latest telecast and the Princess’ overview:

“Just woke up from a 19-hour sleep here in London. That is a testament to what an incredible show #Bellator222 was at Madison Square Garden. I got to make history with @bellatormma again as their first female fighter commentator and had the honor to call it in the historical Madison Square Garden. Congratulations to all the fighters (even the clowns – lol) for taking part in one of the most stacked cards that Bellator MMA has ever seen. And congratulations to Mr. @Sonnench for the well-deserved retirement. It was truly an honor to be able to sit in your chair and watch your last fight.

Thank you to Bellator MMA for giving me this opportunity and a huge thank you to @jennbrowntv, @johnmccarthymma, @therealpunk, and Mr. Jay Glazer for mentoring me through this process. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…I work for the best promotion in the world! #BellatorMMA 

It’s easy to see Ilima-Lei Macfarlane has star power. How long before the Networks realize this and have her filling in as a guest host? Being a replacement on one of those late night talk shows for Jimmy Kimmel, John Oliver or Steven Colbert. Or better yet, she could join one of the investigative teams like “60 Minutes“.
And, if she ever needs backup, who better to call, then these two gentlemen: Manolo “El Huracan” Hernandez and Bill Crawford.
10th Planet Jiu Jitsu will always have your back.
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