Wins were hard to come by, but it was still a winning week for mixed martial artists from Hawaii.
Bellator MMA returned to Oahu after a 28-month absence following the COVID-19 pandemic and delivered two high-level cards on back-to-back nights, culminating in Cris Cyborg’s successful bantamweight title defense in a five-round war with Arlene Blencowe in the main event of Bellator 279 on Saturday night.
The event saw Makaha’s Yancy Medeiros open the main card with an impressive win over Emmanuel Sanchez, but it also saw hugely disappointing losses for Kamehameha alumnus Kai Kamaka and Punahou alumna Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, who was making her return to the cage after a 16-month hiatus.
Hawaii fighters finished the weekend 2-7 against fighters from everywhere else, but they received good news from Bellator CEO and President Scott Coker, who clearly has an interested in cultivating more fighters from the islands.
“We just need to create more opportunities for these guys and basically have more fights,” Coker said Saturday night. “We have to make sure (there’s) not a long break between matches for the local kids. I think maybe we’ll shift our position on it and keep these guys busy.”
To do that, Coker mentioned supporting the local shows here, who have yet to get back on track holding events following the pandemic. He also brought up possibly holding smaller Bellator events here more frequently.
The company planned to hold yearly shows at the Blaisdell Arena when it first came to Oahu in 2018. They returned a year later in ’19 before the pandemic hit.
A raucous crowd of approximately 4,000 people on Saturday night created an atmosphere that really came through on the Showtime broadcast.
“I think we’d definitely like to continue (coming back),” Coker said. “When I see the local fighters here, there’s a great talent pool. There’s always been a great talent pool here in Hawaii and you could feel the passion and energy from the crowd. It’s someplace very special.”
The biggest winner was Medeiros, who was cut from the UFC following a run of 15 fights over eight years from 2013 to ’21.
He signed a one-fight deal with Bellator just so he could fight inside the Blaisdell Arena for the first time.
He brought the crowd to its feet numerous times in a unanimous decision over Sanchez and showed off that entertaining style of fighting that made him a regular winner of fight bonuses in the UFC.
“That was a really entertaining fight,” Coker said. “I think we would definitely like to keep Yancy on the roster.”
Macfarlane, whose run as flyweight world champion is what brought Bellator to Hawaii for the first time, looked rusty in her first fight back since having knee surgery following her title loss to Juliana Velasquez in December 2020.
Coker said he thought Macfarlane may have gotten hurt in the first round of her fight against Justine Kish. On the Showtime broadcast, Macfarlane clearly showed discomfort in her left arm and neck in between the first and second rounds.
“I looked at her fight as somebody who had some ring rust who wasn’t fine-tuned yet, so maybe she came back too early, maybe we pushed her a little too much, I’m not sure,” Coker said. “I think she was injured in this fight early on.”
Coker mentioned a possible pinched nerve in her neck. Macfarlane was not made available for the media after the fight.
She had hinted during her time off that retirement was a possibility to start a family. She’s now 11-2 in her professional career following a second consecutive loss.
“It’s really going to be up to her and if she wants to do it again, we’ll definitely give her another opportunity,” Coker said. “I think she deserves it. If you look at her record, she’s 11-2. It’s an amazing fight record. She’s still ranked in the top five I’m sure even after losing this fight, so if she wants to continue to fight or take some time off, it’s really going to be up to what she wants.”
No timetable has been set for a possible return. The company has upcoming shows in Paris and London next month, Connecticut in June and Dublin in September.
