Ilima MacFarlane Says Rebecca Ruth Is Her Toughest Opponent To Date

In an interview with MMA Junkie, Ilima MacFarlane (3-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) said that her fight with Rebecca Ruth (6-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) will be her “hands down toughest” fight so far. It happens tonight at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. Here are highlights:

On the ‘soccer mom’ video: “I know (the video) will probably never leave me. And I’m OK with that at this point. It’s not going to identify who I am or anything. But now I kind of take it in stride. I’m trying to have it work toward my benefit. Like, ‘That’s the chick? She can fight. Look at her on Bellator.’ I’m always on this quest to validate myself in the MMA community. Like, ‘I can fight. I deserve this.’ So that’s mostly where the pressure stems from. Not necessarily the viewers, but the MMA community.”

On the fight with Ruth: “Honestly, I was kind of surprised that they matched us up because she does have a lot more experience than me, a lot more fights in the cage. I was thinking that I was going to continue to grow with them. I feel like both my opponents were valid opponents, but I didn’t think they were going to give me someone like Ruth until after my contract is done, if they were to re-sign me. But now that they do have (the matchup), then I’m like, ‘This is a great opportunity.’ Especially if I’m able to pull off a win. It will really validate me as a fighter that I can handle this caliber of fighters.”

On how she expects it to go: “I’ve imagined it going all three rounds, being really gritty. I don’t see Ruth tapping to any submission attempts. I don’t see her even going down to ground-and-pound or TKO. She’s always getting up, coming forward. I just see it coming down to who has the most heart, really. I see it going all three rounds. And being really brutal. She’s a tough lady. I have to get it over with some time. I know I’m going to have one of those fights which is going to be insane, I’m probably going to feel like I have to throw up afterward, and I’ll be all bloody, and I have to do it if I want to grow as a fighter.”