Ilima-Lei Macfarlane’s legacy already includes numerous title defenses and building up enough cachet to convince Bellator to have her headline an event thousands of miles away from its base in California.
One thing her story is missing so far is a rival, a major component to the mythologies of most great combat sports champions. She believes Juliana Velasquez could be that rival.
Macfarlane (11-0) defends her flyweight championship against the unbeaten Velasquez in the main event of Bellator 254 this Thursday. It’s easy to see why Velasquez is considered the biggest threat yet to Macfarlane’s reign.