Since her homecoming in December headlining Bellator’s first mixed martial arts card in Hawaii, Ilima-Lei Macfarlane’s life hasn’t slowed down a bit.

The women’s flyweight world champion left Hawaii a week after her submission victory over Valerie Letourneau in front of a sold-out Blaisdell Arena crowd, but only found some quiet time while in Cuba, where she didn’t have Internet access.

Upon returning to California, the decision was made to get right back into training camp to defend her title just four months later — she fights Veta Arteaga on Saturday in the co-main event of Bellator 220 in San Jose, Calif.

The Punahou alumna, ranked No. 2 in the world at 125 pounds by ESPN, says she’s suited for the fast-paced lifestyle of a champion wanting to defend her title as much as possible.

After waiting until she was 24 to break into the sport professionally, Macfarlane (9-0, 8-0 BMMA) has no time to sit back and enjoy her success.

“I always tell myself when I feel like I might be getting overwhelmed, I’m like, ‘Dude, this is what you want,’ ” Macfarlane said in a phone interview last week. “This wave can be over any day, so just ride it out, enjoy it and have some fun.”

Macfarlane’s version of fun is standing in a cage opposite Arteaga (5-2, 4-2), an aggressive striker who represents the exact kind of opponent Macfarlane was looking for.

“She’s not really a big household name, but to anyone who follows Bellator, she absolutely is worthy of a title shot,” Macfarlane said. “All of her fights are action-packed and a full-on war. She has two losses, but both of her losses are really controversial. Everyone thinks she won both, so yeah, she’s a really exciting fighter, a fan favorite, and people were stoked when they found out we were fighting each other.”

Macfarlane has yet to score a knockout win in Bellator. Her MMA debut was a first-round TKO in only 10 seconds, but since joining the organization for her next fight, Macfarlane has won six times by submission and twice by decision.

“I think it’s a good test to fight someone with her aggression, because I’ve never fought someone like this,” Macfarlane said. “I don’t want to say that I don’t care about getting punched, but I feel like none of my opponents have ever punched me as hard as my teammate, Liz Carmouche, so confidence-wise I know I can take a punch.”

Bellator’s event in Hawaii in December is regarded as one of the most successful nights in the history of the organization and also propelled Macfarlane to elite status among 125-pound female fighters in the world.

She is the only fighter ranked in ESPN’s top 10 at flyweight who doesn’t compete in the UFC.

“I’d like to see more Bellator fighters be taken seriously and getting that exposure,” Macfarlane said. “The thing with MMA is that anyone is beatable on any given day.

“I definitely think I’m one of the best in the world. I think I have the best ground game in MMA in the division in the world and yeah, I’m stoked that ESPN has me with that ranking.”