Ilima-Lei Macfarlane wins close fight at Bellator 284

Punahou alumna Ilima-Lei Macfarlane earned her first win since December 2019 with a close unanimous decision over Bruna Ellen on the main card of Bellator 284 on Friday night in Sioux Falls, S.D.

The former flyweight world champion, who missed weight by 3 pounds on Friday, was in trouble in the third round when Ellen locked in a guillotine choke as Macfarlane was going for a takedown.

Macfarlane stayed in the hold for nearly two minutes before finally pressing her way out and spent the last 45 seconds of the round throwing punches and elbows from the top.

The judges scored the contest 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 in favor of Macfarlane. An incorrect scorecard was read by the ring announcer saying Ellen won 29-28 on one of the scorecards.

One judge gave Ellen the second round and another gave her the third.

Macfarlane, who said before the fight she would fight out the remaining four fights on her contract before taking a lengthy break from MMA, was emotional after the win.

“I was telling my coaches before coming into this fight that I didn’t know if my heart was here anymore,” Macfarlane said as she fought back tears. “I didn’t know if my heart was in fighting anymore. I needed this win to prove to myself that I still love this sport.”

Macfarlane (12-2) hadn’t won since successfully defending her 125-pound title at the Blaisdell Arena in 2019.

She lost the belt by unanimous decision to Juliana Velasquez in December 2020 and then suffered a shocking unanimous decision loss to Justine Kish at the Blaisdell Arena in April.

This was the first time she failed to make weight for a fight.

“I just want to first and foremost say, Bruna, you should have had your hand raised because you still took this fight even though I missed weight,” Macfarlane said. “That guillotine was super tight. Luckily I had the (video) screen right there so I could see everything.”

Ellen will receive a percentage of Macfarlane’s fight purse.