SAN DIEGO – Bellator president Scott Coker figured the friendship between flyweight champion Liz Carmouche and Ilima-Lei Macfarlane would go out the window once the bell rang in their Bellator 300 fight.
It wasn’t quite like that – but in the end, one of them was taken off on a stretcher.
Carmouche (20-7 MMA, 7-0 BMMA), who wasn’t at risk of losing her title after Macfarlane (13-3 MMA, 12-3 BMMA) missed weight, earned a surprising fifth-round TKO victory to retain her belt Saturday night at Pechanga Arena that, at times, resembled a glorified sparring session – at least in the beginning.
Round 1 saw the two friends mostly just circle each other, with Macfarlane initiating most of the offense, although nothing significant ever landed. Prior to Round 2, referee Blake Grice brought both women to the center of the cage to encourage action, but it didn’t exactly resonate.
It wasn’t until Round 3 that things took a turn once Carmouche found a home for leg kicks that Macfarlane had trouble defending. Carmouche landed several of them, which showed visible damage on Macfarlane’s left leg. That continued into Round 4, with a Carmouche leg kick dropping Macfarlane to the canvas, but the champ didn’t rush in for a finish and let her friend back up. Some more leg kicks had Macfarlane nearly hopping on one leg, but she made it to the end of the round hobbling back to her corner.
Just 17 seconds into the fifth, Carmouche landed one more leg kick as Macfarlane closed distance, and this one buckled the challenger for good and forced Grice to stop the fight.
Given what was said leading up to the fight, it likely wasn’t the way Carmouche would’ve liked the fight to end but was unavoidable.
Up-to-the-minute Bellator 300 results include:
- Liz Carmouche def. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane via TKO (leg kick) – Round 5, 0:17 – to defend flyweight title
- Bobby Seronio III def. Alberto Garcia via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Leah McCourt def. Sara McMann via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:30
- Sergio Cossio def. Jesse Roberts via submission (triangle choke) –Round 3, 4:05
- Kai Kamaka def. Henry Corrales via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
- Slim Trabelsi def. Davion Franklin via technical submission – Round 1, 3:09
- Doveltdzhan Yagshimuradov def. Maciej Rozanski via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Mukhamed Berkhamov def. Herman Terrado via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Grant Neal def. Romero Cotton via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
- Jena Bishop vs. Ilara Joanne submission (armbar) – Round 1, 2:45
- Josh Hokit def. Spencer Smith via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 3, 3:12
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 300.
