*Preview was done before Ilima-Lei Macfarlane missed weight. As a result of her weight miss, she cannot win the flyweight title tomorrow night. If Macfarlane wins, the title is vacant.
Tomorrow night in the first of three title fights on the historic Bellator 300 card, we are going to see a battle for the women’s flyweight championship. The champ Liz Carmouche (19-7) is back to defend her crown against former champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (13-2).
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane earns this shot after back-to-back wins. Her last win coming against Kana Watanabe back at Bellator 295 by Split Decision. Now, the fight took place in Macfarlane’s home of Hawaii and it was a very questionable decision, but nevertheless, the former champion got her hand raised and now she’s fighting for the belt once again.
Standing in her way of becoming a two-time champion is “The Girlrilla” Liz Carmouche. Back in 2019, Carmouche was with the UFC and two straight wins earned her a shot against the great Valentina Shevchenko. While Carmouche fought well, she ultimately came short. Following that fight, she signed with Bellator as a free agent.
Three straight wins for Carmouche led her to a title fight against Juliana Velasquez. She won by fourth round TKO to become Bellator champion, but there was a lot of controversy with the finish. With that, the promotion ultimately ran it back. When they did, she dominated the rematch to retain her title. Most recently, she submitted DeAnna Bennett in her second title defense.
Bellator 300 Preview
When analyzing this matchup, I see a lot of advantages for the champion. Macfarlane is at her best whenever she’s able to get the fight to the ground and have a dominant position on top. However, I’m not sure she’s going to have the strength and grappling advantage to get this fight to the ground consistently.
On the feet, I’ve liked what I’ve seen lately from Carmouche. I believe she’s going to be able to land the bigger shots and the cleaner shots on the feet. Her striking is going to force Macfarlane to shoot for sloppier takedowns which are going to be easier to defend.
I believe out of all the title fights, this one will be the one that sees the championship rounds. In the fourth round, I see the current Bellator champion getting Macfarlane’s back. Macfarlane will be tired at this point and I think Carmouche finds the choke to retain her belt and move to a perfect 7-0 in Bellator.
Prediction: Liz Carmouche by Submission – Round 4