Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (born April 2, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of b ...

division of Bellator MMA. She is the inaugural and former Bellator Women's Flyweight World Champion. As of December 13, 2022, she is #6 in the Bellator Women's pound-for-pound Rankings and #3 in the Bellator Women's Flyweight Rankings.

Background

In her youth, Macfarlane played basketball, but her aspirations in the sport came to a stop due to series of knee injuries. Macfarlane graduated Punahou School in 2009 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Although she got a scholarship for wrestling to

Menlo College Menlo College is a private college specializing in business and is located in Atherton, California. Campus Menlo College is situated on 45-acre (0.18 km2) campus in Atherton, California, 25 miles southeast of San Francisco and 20 miles nort ...

, she decided to study Anthropology at

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

from where she earned Bachelor Degree in 2013. After earning her Bachelor Degree in 2013, she continued her education at SDSU to study Master of Arts in Liberal Studies. During the summer before grad program, she decided to lose some weight she gained in the college and joined a

CrossFit CrossFit is a branded fitness regimen that involves constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. The method was developed by Greg Glassman, who founded CrossFit with Lauren Jenai in 2000, with CrossFit its registered trad ...

gym and

Liz Carmouche Liz Carmouche (born February 19, 1984) is an American mixed martial arts fighter currently signed to Bellator MMA, where she is the current Bellator Women's Flyweight World Champion. Carmouche competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC ...

's MMA gym. She grew affinity for mixed martial arts and continued training at the San Diego Combat Academy.

Personal life

In April 2020, Ilima-Lei, her sister Mahina, and one other female who chose to remain anonymous to the public filed a lawsuit against Punahou School for failing to take action over years of alleged sexual abuse from the school's assistant basketball coach, Dwayne Yuen. In the lawsuit, all three allege Yuen of years of sexual abuse, harassment, lewd gestures, and showing young girls several pornographic photos.

Mixed martial arts career

Xplode Fight Series

Macfarlane began her amateur MMA career in 2014. She fought five times during that year, mainly with Xplode Fight Series, and went undefeated as an amateur. Macfarlane's first professional fight was an unsanctioned match against Katie Castro for Xplode Fight Series in 2015. Macfarlane won via technical knockout ten seconds into the bout. In the aftermath of the lopsided affair, the California State Athletic Commission ( CSAC) launched an investigation into the organization's unsanctioned MMA events. Castro had a 0-2 record before fighting Macfarlane and footage of the match was posted on the internet and labeled "Soccer mom loses to MMA fighter". The video went viral, garnering over a million views on YouTube and was discussed on a few television news networks.

Bellator MMA

Following the bout with Castro, Macfarlane signed a three-fight contract with Bellator MMA. She made her debut in August 2015 at

Bellator 141 2015 in Bellator MMA was the seventh year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. Bellator held 16 events in 2015. Background In June 2014, Founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney parted with the company. ...

where she defeated Maria Rios by split decision. Macfarlane fought Amber Tackett at

Bellator 148 2016 in Bellator MMA was the eighth year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promoter based in the United States. Bellator held 23 events in 2016. Background 2016 is notable for the launch of sibling promotion Bellator Kickboxi ...

where Macfarlane won by armbar submission in the first round. Macfarlane's next bout was against Rebecca Ruth at Bellator 157 where she won by standing rear-naked choke in the second round. Macfarlane would then fight Emily Ducote at Bellator 167 where she was victorious via unanimous decision. Macfarlane faced Jessica Middleton at Bellator 178 and won by armbar submission in the first round.

Bellator Women's Flyweight World Champion

Macfarlane and

Emily Ducote Emily Ducote (born January 1, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist, currently competing in the strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She previously competed in Invicta FC, where she was the Invicta FC Strawweigh ...

had a rematch at Bellator 186 for the inaugural

Bellator Women's Flyweight World Championship Bellator MMA (formerly known as "Bellator Fighting Championships") is an American mixed martial arts promotion, and the following is a history of its champions in each weight class. At the time of its inception in 2008, CEO Bjorn Rebney founded B ...

. Macfarlane won the bout with an armbar variation in the fifth round to win her first MMA championship. Macfarlane faced

Alejandra Lara Alejandra Lara (born ) is a Colombian female mixed martial artist currently signed to the Bellator MMA promotion. As of October 4, 2022, she is #10 in the Bellator Women's Flyweight Rankings. Mixed martial arts career Early career Lara made ...

at Bellator 201 for the first defense of her flyweight title. Macfarlane won the fight in the third round via armbar. Macfarlane faced

Valérie Létourneau Valérie Létourneau (born April 29, 1983) is a Canadian mixed martial artist who competes in the Women's Flyweight division for Bellator MMA. Mixed martial arts career Létourneau made her MMA debut March 31, 2007 with TKO win over Tannaya H ...

at Bellator 213 in Macfarlane's hometown of

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

. Macfarlane successfully defended her title for a second time, defeating Létourneau by third round submission. In her third title defense, Macfarlane faced Veta Arteaga at Bellator 220 on April 27, 2019. She won the fight via TKO due to a doctor's stoppage in the third round. Macfarlane made her fourth title defense against

Kate Jackson Lucy Kate Jackson (born October 29, 1948) is an American actress and television producer, known for her television roles as Sabrina Duncan in the series ''Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1979) and Amanda King in the series ''Scarecrow and Mrs. King ...

at Bellator 236 on December 21, 2019. Macfarlane was victorious via unanimous decision. On February 10, 2020, it was announced that Macfarlane had signed a ten-fight, five-year extension contract with Bellator. Macfarlane attempted her next defense against undefeated challenger Juliana Velasquez on December 10, 2020 at Bellator 254. She lost the fight and her title via unanimous decision.

Post Title Reign

After more then a year off due to knee surgery and rehab, Macfarlane made her return against

Justine Kish Svetlana Nasibulina (born 13 April 1988), known professionally by her ring name Justine Kish, is an American mixed martial artist that competes in the Flyweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional since 2010, she has also competed in the Ult ...

on April 23, 2022 at Bellator 279. In an upset, she lost the bout via unanimous decision. Macfarlane faced Bruna Ellen at

Bellator 284 ''Bellator 284: Gracie vs. Yamauchi'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on August 12, 2022, at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. Background The main event will feature a battl ...

on August 12, 2022. At weigh ins, Macfarlane was three pounds over the division non-title fight limit at 129 lbs, resulting in her being a fined a percentage of her purse which went to Ellen and the bout proceeded at catchweight. She won the bout via unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

Combat jiu-jitsu

*Eddie Bravo Invitational **

Combat Jiu-Jitsu Submission wrestling, also known as Submission grappling, Submission fighting a form of competition and a general term for martial arts and combat sports that focus on clinch and ground fighting with the aim of obtaining a submission through the ...

Women's Flyweight Championship (One time, inaugural)

Mixed martial arts

* Bellator MMA **

(One time, inaugural) ***Four successful title defenses ** Second most submission wins in Bellator history (6) - tied with

Michael Chandler Michael Chandler (born April 24, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2009, Chandler first gained n ...

and

Neiman Gracie Neiman Gracie Stambowsky (born December 12, 1988) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner. A two-time Pan-American champion in coloured belts, Gracie medalled at the 2013 black belt World No-Gi Championship be ...

**Most wins in Bellator amongst women (10) **Most stoppage wins in Bellator amongst women (7) **Most wins in Bellator Flyweight division history (10) **Most fights in Bellator Flyweight division history (10) * MMAjunkie.com **2018 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

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Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...

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Combat jiu-jitsu record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Macfarlane, Ilima-Lei 1990 births Living people American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners American female mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Hawaii Flyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Bellator female fighters Bellator MMA champions Punahou School alumni San Diego State University alumni Sportspeople from Honolulu 21st-century American women