Ilima-Lei MacFarlane Retains Bellator Championship At Bellator 220; Ben Henderson, Phil Davis Win
A gash called a close to the Women’s Flyweight Championship fight at Bellator 220 Saturday Night.
Ilima-Lei MacFarlane retained her 125 pound Bellator Title by slicing her opponent Veta Arteaga open. A violent elbow in the third round signaled the beginning of the end and Arteaga was rendered unable to continue.
You can see our full coverage of the fight below.
Bellator Women’s Flyweight Championship
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (9-0) (c) vs. Veta Arteaga (5-2)Round 1: MacFarlane is immediately pressing forward and dropping down for submissions. First an armbar, which is escaped, then a kneebar. Arteaga works to the feet and lands knees in the clinch. Arteaga stuffs a takedown to end the round.
Round 2: MacFarlane gets inside and takes down Arteaga, but rests in the guard. The fight moves back up to the feet, but Arteaga is countering when she can. MacFarlane keeps cutting her off with long strikes and leg kicks. Arteaga probably took the round based on the striking at the end of it.
Round 3: MacFarlane quickly gets Arteaga down, but the ref calls an end to the fight via a cut on Arteaga’s head after a filthy elbow. That’s it.
The win is MacFarlane’s third successful championship defense, and she’s the only person to ever hold Bellator’s Flyweight Title. She’s now the longest reigning current Bellator Champion by way of defenses, and sits only behind Ben Askren’s four all-time.
Elsewhere on the show, a couple of former champions also picked up wins. Former UFC Champ Ben Henderson earned a split decision win over Adam Piccolotti, while former Bellator Champ Phil Davis finished his contemporary Liam McGeary via TKO in their rematch.
Fightful had full, live coverage of Bellator 220, as well as a live post-show podcast. We’ll also talk about the event at length Tuesday at 2 PM EST on the Fightful MMA Podcast.
