Ilima-Lei Macfarlane entered the cage at Bellator 201 as the women’s flyweight champion and she would exit the cage as the champion.
That’s because the title holder would pick up a third round submission win over Alejandra Lara, notching the first successful title defense for the Hawaii native.
Here is the recap of the final round of the fight:
Round Three: The round begins with Macfarlane cracking a kicking Lara with a counter left hook, Lara attacks Macfarlane with a kick to the midsection. Macfarlane scores a takedown on Lara and she gets back control, Macfarlane starts attacking Lara with some ground and pound. Macfarlane gains the full mount on a scrambling Lara, Macfarlane goes back to attacking Lara with ground and pound. Macfarlane rolls for the arm bar and Lara taps after a long struggle.
Official Result: Ilima-Lei Macfarlane def. #3 Alejandra Lara by submission via arm bar (3:55, R3) to retain the title
Lara looked good early in the fight with a solid ground game, but Macfarlane would take over in round two and round three before getting the submission win. While Macfarlane’s next title defense is unknown at this time, it was implied by the commentary team of Mike Goldberg and John McCarthy that UFC veteran Valerie Letourneau would be next.
