Former champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane eyes today’s bout and beyond in Bellator

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Emmanuel Sanchez, left, and opponent Yancy Medeiros face off during Friday;s official weigh-in.

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JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM

Emmanuel Sanchez, left, and opponent Yancy Medeiros face off during Friday;s official weigh-in.

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JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM

Ilima-Lei Macfarlane flexed during the ceremonial weigh-in for Bellator 279 on Friday at the Blaisdell Arena. She fights Justine Kish today.

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Former Bellator flyweight world champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane successfully made weight at 126 pounds Friday for her fight tonight against Justine Kish on the main card of Bellator 279 at the Blaisdell Arena.

Sporting a tank-top that read “1893: Illegal overthrow of Hawaii,” the Punahou alumna presented her opponent with a lei before the two faced off at the ceremonial weigh-ins at Hilton Hawaiian Village.

Macfarlane is fighting for the first time since losing her title in December 2020, but remains ranked No. 3 in the Bellator women’s pound-for-pound rankings.

Even with a decisive win over Kish, Macfarlane said Thursday she hopes to have one more fight before challenging for the title again.

“I’m actually keeping a very close eye on the Denise Kielholtz and Kana Watanabe fight on the London card,” Macfarlane said. “I’m keeping my eye on that fight because I think the winner of that fight and the winner of this fight, if it’s me, are top contenders. That fight between us would be for the title shot.”

Macfarlane (11-1) is a heavy favorite over Kish (7-5), who said she realized what she was being labeled as after getting such a high-profile fight despite losing three in a row.

“I realized, oh my God, I think I just became a tomato can,” Kish said Thursday. “That doesn’t sit well with me. I grew up in combat sports as the star of the show. Things have turned around. This isn’t me.”

Macfarlane contemplated retirement since her last fight but had knee surgery that went well enough that she felt like coming back for one more run for the belt.

“This is pineapple princess 2.0, a bionic version I guess,” Macfarlane said. “Once I figured out the knee situation … and I started a real camp and I got the date for Bellator Hawaii that’s when all of that went out the window and I’m not anywhere near retirement.”

The fight will be the second of four on the main card of Bellator 279, beginning at 4:30 p.m. The first of nine preliminary bouts start at 2:30 p.m.

There are eight fighters from Hawaii competing on the undercard with one fight, Keoni Diggs (9-1) vs. Bobby King (11-4), featuring two guys from the islands.