Last year, Ilima-Lei Macfarlane came to Hawaii as a part-time fighter and full-time promoter.
For Bellator’s second trip to the islands, Macfarlane can now be a full-time fighter and a part-time fan.
The women’s 125-pound world champion has a lot less on her plate as she prepares to make the fourth defense of her championship belt against Kate Jackson in the main event of Bellator 236 on Saturday night at the Blaisdell Arena.
The Punahou alumna remains the face of the organization in the islands, and her week has still been filled with media appearances and promotional engagements.
>> READ MORE: UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett back in Hawaii
But it hasn’t been quite the same as a year ago, when Bellator became the first major mixed martial arts organization to hold an event in Hawaii. Her family, her friends and, most importantly, Macfarlane herself, understand a lot more about what the week entails.
“It’s definitely toned down,” Macfarlane said Thursday. “This isn’t my first rodeo. I experienced the craziness of Bellator Hawaii 1 and nothing can compare to that.”
She’s even had time to enjoy the week a little more. She showed up to Wednesday’s open workouts early and got to enjoy Josh Barnett’s impromptu pro-wrestling exhibition that broke out.
During the most difficult part of her weight cut on Thursday, less than 24 hours before weighing in, she was still accommodating with members of the media, even after she was asked how she was feeling, which is the one question she hates the most.
“I’ve been very relaxed. If people hit me up for interviews, I’m very like, ‘Come up to my room,’ ” Macfarlane said. “I’m very (much) more accommodating than last year.”
That won’t be the case Saturday when the cage door closes behind Macfarlane, who will take on an opponent who admitted Wednesday she was surprised when she got the call asking if she wanted to compete for a world title.
Jackson, 33, has fought 14 times over a 10-year professional career. She’s won twice in the Bellator cage since losing a unanimous decision to Valerie Letourneau, whom Macfarlane tapped out in the third round last December to set off one of the loudest cheers Blaisdell Arena has heard in recent memory.
“I thought maybe I would have one more fight before this one,” Jackson said Wednesday. “I thought obviously there was some talk of my last fight potentially being (a) No. 1 contender fight, but I knew there were a couple of others in the mix, so I thought maybe it would go to one of them first and then I would get the opportunity.”
One of those fighters was Veta Arteaga, whom Macfarlane beat by TKO in her last fight in April.
Macfarlane landed a vicious elbow in the third round that opened up a deep cut in Arteaga’s forehead, resulting in a stoppage.
Arteaga was ahead in the fight at that point, as Macfarlane was in the first real trouble of her title reign. Macfarlane said in the cage after the fight she was open to an immediate rematch, but was instead given Jackson as her opponent for her return to Hawaii.
“I thought there was going to be a rematch because I wasn’t happy with the nature in which that fight ended. I didn’t make her quit. The doctor had to come in and stop it,” Macfarlane said. “I thought she was doing really well up until that point, so I was like yeah, I’ll give her the rematch, but you should ask Veta why she thinks she didn’t get the rematch. She might have some inside information.”
Macfarlane refused to go into any further detail. Arteaga is in Hawaii to fight on the main card of tonight’s Bellator 235 event at the Blaisdell Arena open only to the military as part of a special “Salute the Troops” show.
Arteaga will fight Alejandra Lara, whom Macfarlane beat by third-round submission in her first title defense.
Puna’s Cheyden Leialoha, Wailuku’s Zach Zane and Makaha’s Nainoa Dung will also fight on Saturday’s main card beginning at 5 p.m. with Zane and Dung going head-to-head to open the show.
Six preliminary bouts will also be held featuring fighters from Hawaii.
