Ilima Macfarlane Says She’s Happy to Rematch Emily Ducote For Bellator Women’s Flyweight Title

Ilima Macfarlane spoke with MMAjunkie ahead of her fight with Emily Ducote for the inaugural women’s flyweight title at Bellator 186. Highlights are below:

On fighting for the title: “I’m very calm right now, but I know once I get there I’m going to be freaking out. My career has been accelerated compared to others. It was totally not my intention to be fighting for a world championship at this stage. I just joined the gym because I wanted to lose weight. It wasn’t part of my vision, but now that it’s here, it’s like, ‘All right – let’s do it.’”

On rematching Ducote: “I had a feeling it was going to be Emily because out of all the other women in the division, she’s been consistent. She’s been fighting, winning and keeping close to weight. She never turned down a fight. I actually thought it was going to be her. There were other women in the division, such as Anastasia (Yankova), but she hasn’t proven she can make 125, so I thought that might’ve ruled her out. And then other new signees, like Valerie Letourneau, they haven’t even fought for Bellator yet. I figured it wasn’t going to be any of them. But honestly, if I could choose anybody, I would choose Emily because our fight, I thought, was really close. It went to a decision, and even though it was unanimous it was back and forth. It was my toughest test to date. I think she’s deserving of it.”