Ilima-Lei Macfarlane talks home ownership, scholarship launch in advance of Bellator 220 title defense

E. Spencer Kyte

Ilima-Lei Macfarlane talks home ownership, scholarship launch in advance of Bellator 220 title defense image

For everything she is accomplishing inside the Bellator MMA cage, Ilima-Lei Macfarlane is most proud of the example she is setting outside of the cage and the opportunities she is creating for others.

Fresh off an unforgettable experience at Bellator Hawaii, where her entrance gave everyone “chicken skin” before she successfully retained her flyweight title with a third-round submission win over Valerie Letourneau, the unbeaten 29-year-old titleholder is poised to return to action on Saturday night in San Jose at Bellator 220.

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But while she’s happy to discuss her impending title defense against Vera Arteaga and how she envisions the fight playing out, Macfarlane is just as eager to talk about the massive amounts of support she’s received during her climb to the top of the flyweight division, her impact as a role model and the continued efforts she’s making to use her platform with Bellator MMA to give back to her community.

“A life not in service to others isn’t a life worth living,” said Macfarlane, speaking with Sporting News in advance of her matchup with Arteaga this weekend at SAP Center in San Jose. “I don’t think I got the quote right — I think I flipped it, actually — but I think it’s totally worth it.

"It’s been seriously nothing but aloha,” she continued about the response to her entrance and performance in December at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu. “It’s overwhelming how emotional people were about it and how much aloha they had, how proud they were. It’s been nothing but positive.”

 

 

She added: “I’m breaking barriers every day, not only by fighting in Hawaii, but having a female world champion representing Hawaii and all the Hawaiians is another barrier that I’m breaking and defying a lot of stereotypes and norms. It’s not a big deal to see women headline a huge card. I hope that all these young girls that are watching me — growing up, I had female sports heroes that I looked up to like Mia Hamm, so for me to be in that position now is beyond my wildest dreams and I never thought I would ever be like this.”

Another way Macfarlane hopes to inspire young females is through her “Iliminator Scholarship,” which will provide traveling opportunities, cultural enrichment and indigenous knowledge opportunities to young native girls, ages 12 to 18.

“I actually created it with my win bonus money when I won the title,” Macfarlane said of the scholarship program, which looks to expose recipients to different cultures and communities through exchange programs in San Diego, Hawaii, Panama and Jamaica; places that many young native girls would not otherwise get the opportunity to visit and experience.

In addition to her philanthropic endeavors, Macfarlane also has a more personal goal she wants to take care of after her bout this weekend as well.

“I also really want to win this fight because I want to buy a house,” said the Brazilian jiu jitsu brown belt who has won each of her last four fights by submission. “I want to become a single, female home owner who is able to get a house on her own without needing a co-signer or a husband or anything to show that you can do it if you work hard and want it bad enough. Also, I just need to get a backyard for my dog because I feel bad that he’s cooped up in this apartment.”

While many have characterized her incredible homecoming in December as a storybook ending, the undisputed queen of the Bellator flyweight division isn’t quite sold on using the word “ending” to describe any part of her career.

Instead, she prefers to look at that night like the conclusion of a blockbuster movie that has a number of sequels in the works, because although it’s going to be hard to top the emotions and energy generated by her entrance and performance late last year in Honolulu, Macfarlane has something special planned for this weekend in San Jose and knows there will be a massive Hawaiian presence inside the SAP Center on Saturday night.

“A lot of people ask me, ‘How are you going to top Bellator Hawaii?’ but honestly, I’m excited for all of my fights,” said Macfarlane. “All of my fights have a different, special meaning to them and a different motivation to them and so even though Bellator Hawaii was one of the best experiences of my life, I’m just as excited for San Jose. I’m going to have the support system up there. There are going to be choke locals and choke islanders up there in Northern California because it’s just a flight away from the island.

“We’ve been saying that we’re bringing a Hawaiian wave to San Jose; that’s the theme for this fight," she added. "My walk-out is going to have that indigenous rising element to it, but it’s also going to have water, so I’m really excited for people to see my walk-out.”

As much as she has been planning her entrance, thinking about buying a home for herself and her dog, and working to get her scholarship program off the ground, Macfarlane has spent the majority of her time in the gym, preparing to face Arteaga this weekend and secure her third successful title defense.

The challenger enters on a two-fight winning streak, most recently earning a second-round submission victory over Denise Kielholtz back in September, and is known for her aggressive style out of the gate.

“I see this actually playing out one of two ways,” said Macfarlane, offering her breakdown of this weekend’s championship co-main event. “Either she’s going to come out like she always does — guns blazing, balls to the wall, in your face, which is what all of her fights have been — and if that’s the case, it will leave her open to a lot of takedowns. Once it goes to the ground, that’s my s—t right there. If that were to happen, I think it would be over within the first three rounds; finished by a submission.

"However, she could also come out staying on the outside, trying to pick her shots and keep it standing," she continued. "If that’s the case, I see it going to the judges’ scorecards.”

Regardless of how it plays out, Macfarlane fully intends to stand in the center of the cage on Saturday night with her championship belt around her waist before joining an InterTribal Youth exchange trip to Jamaica at the end of May, hopefully alongside an “Iliminator Scholarship” recipient.

Because while being a fighter is definitely a big part of her life, there is so much more to who she is and what she wants to do with the opportunities that competing at the highest levels has provided her.

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“They say to be a fighter, you have to be selfish, which is true because you do lose a lot of your social life and your friends when you’re on a mission and driven towards something,” said Macfarlane. “But I believe in balance and that if we’re not using our platforms for good, what’s the point? I’m really happy that MMA has given me the opportunity to do this.”

For more information on the Iliminator Scholarship and the InterTribal Youth organization, please visit NativeLikeWater.org.

E. Spencer Kyte