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COURTESY BELLATOR MMA
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane celebrated after a first-round submission of Jessica Middleton on Friday.
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Ilima-Lei Macfarlane remained undefeated as a professional fighter and wants a belt to back up that record.
The 2009 Punahou graduate improved to 6-0 with a first-round submission of Jessica Middleton in the flyweight co-main event of Bellator 178 on Friday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
Macfarlane, 5-0 in Bellator, submitted Middleton with an armbar at 2 minutes, 15 seconds to earn her third win via tapout.
Middleton dropped to 2-1 overall.
“I went in there and did everything that I wanted to do. I did everything that I needed to do and as I said in the cage, I really wanted to make a statement that this is my division,” Macfarlane said. “If they’re going to crown a champion, I want to be No. 1 up there.”
>> Mililani alum Christian Lee bounced back from his first pro loss with a first-round TKO of Wan Jian Pang in a featherweight bout at ONE: Kings of Destiny on Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila.
Lee (6-1) took down Pang (2-2) and delivered a series of vicious elbows from side control before getting on top of Pang and forcing the referee to stop the fight after repeated punches to the face.
Lee, who is 18, earned his sixth win since turning pro in December 2015. He was coming off a first-round submission loss to Martin Nguyen last August.