The co-main event has been set for the upcoming Bellator 178 card and it takes place in the women’s flyweight division as Ilima-Lei MacFarlane takes on Jessica Middleton.
MacFarlane (5-0-0) has already fought a total of four times in Bellator MMA, with those victories coming over Maria Rios, Amber Tackett, Rebecca Ruth and Emily Ducote. MacFarlane’s lone fight outside of the promotion came at Xplode Fight Series: Hurricane, where she made her pro MMA debut by defeating Katie Castro. MacFarlane also went undefeated during her time as an amateur, competing primarily in the Xplode Fight Series promotion.
Middleton (2-0-0) has spent her entire professional MMA career in Bellator MMA, defeating the duo of Bruna Ellen and Alice Yauger. Middleton also went undefeated during her time as an amateur MMA fighter, including a win in the Victory Fighting Championships promotion. Middleton has seen both of her professional MMA fights go the distance, plus one of her two amateur fights went the distance as well.
Bellator 178 takes place on Friday, April 21 from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut with Daniel Straus and Patricio Freire headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
