Bellator 201: “Macfarlane vs. Lara” takes place at Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, Calif., on June 29, 2018, featuring a main event that will see women’s Flyweight champion, Ilima Macfarlane (7-0), make her first-ever title defense against Alejandra Lara (7-1).
Macfarlane has been a mixed martial arts (MMA) sensation since exploding onto the scene at Xplode Fight Series in 2015 with a 10-second technical knockout win. Macfarlane was quickly signed by Bellator for its female Flyweight division and submitted one opponent after another until she ran into Emily Ducote, the only fighter to force her to a split decision. As a result, Bellator booked a rematch between the two for the inaugural title, which Macfarlane won with a fifth round triangle armbar.
It wasn’t immediately obvious who Macfarlane would face next since she had steamrolled her way through the division on the road to the title. Colombian sensation Alejandra Lara hinted that she could be the answer, though, when she danced her way to the cage at Bellator 190 then stunned Italian fans with a dominant submission win over Ukrainian sensation Lena Ovchynnikova.
With “Ilimanator” Macfarlane versus “Azul” Lara booked, Bellator also found time to put together a co-main event in the Flyweight division as Valerie Letourneau (9-6) will look to cause “Trouble” for the beautiful Bruna Ellen (4-1), whose only career loss to date was her Bellator debut in 2015.
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