Bellator 201 results: Macfarlane armbars Lara, Awad stops Couture

Check out the results and highlights from Bellator 201, where Ilima-Lei Macfarlane submitted Alejandra Lara in the main event.

Bellator 201 has just wrapped up with Ilima-Lei Macfarlane successfully defending her flyweight title against Alejandra Lara in the main event. Macfarlane leaned on her grappling, taking Lara to the mat where she realized a beautiful third round armbar to retain her belt. Saad Awad handled business tonight in the co-main event, putting hands on Ryan Couture to achieve a first round TKO. Awad now enjoys a four-fight winning streak which should set him up for a big name fight in the near future.

Also on the billing, Valerie Letourneau waged war with Kristina Williams, with each athlete landing all sorts of strikes throughout. When it was all said and done, it was Letourneau who walked away with the unanimous nod. Opening up the main card, Juan Archuleta put on a stellar performance against Robbie Peralta, and ultimately scored a third round knockout to pick up the biggest win of his career.

Main Card:

Ilima-Lei Macfarlane def. Alejandra Lara by submission (Armbar) at 3:55 of round 3: (W) Flyweight Title

Macfarlane struggled to get the fight to the ground, and settled for taking the bottom position. From her back, Macfarlane attacked a triangle, and held onto the hold for a substantial amount of time. Lara eventually escaped and racked up some top control time, but Macfarlane was able to stand back up before the round ended. Macfarlane got the takedown in the second round and transitioned into full mount. Several elbows landed for Macfarlane, causing Lara to give up her back. A couple more ground strikes landed for Macfarlane as Lara was unable to shake her for the remainder of the round.

The final round saw Macfarlane catch a takedown off of a botched spinning backfist. Lara exposed her back again, and Macfarlane unloaded several punches before Lara spun around and gave up the full mount. After a few elbows hit the skull of Lara, Macfarlane smoothly snagged an armbar. Lara defended really well and hung tough for awhile, but Macfarlane would not be denied, made the adjustments, and got the tap.

This was the beginning of the end for Lara:

Check out this sweet sub attempt from Macfarlane:

Saad Awad def. Ryan Couture by TKO at 4:29 of round 1: 160 pounds

Couture came out looking to close the distance and clinch with Awad against the cage. Awad was able to reverse the position multiple times to continuously return to open space. The right hand and head kicks of Awad started landing on the regular, and then a a big ol’ counter right hand stunned Couture to set up the finishing sequence. Awad started to swarm his foe, landing a variety of punches, buckling Couture, and forcing the ref to take action and stop the fight.

Awad went H.A.M. to get the finish:

Valerie Letourneau Kristina Williams: (W) Flyweight

Both athletes met in the middle and went right to work. Williams landed an overhand right that seemed to knock over her opponent, but Letourneau quickly returned to her feet. As Williams went for a kick, Letourneau clocked her with a right hand, sending her to the canvas. A bunch of ground strikes landed for Letourneau from inside the guard of Williams, but after a lull, the ref stood them back up.

The second round was really back and forth! Each fighter had their moments as they went blow for blow, mixing up punches and kicks alike. Williams found a lot more success with her strikes than she did in the first round, and started to incorporate her elbows into the mix. Williams came out really aggressive to start the final round, throwing a flurry of straights, but Letourneau changed levels and put her on her back. After a referee standup, Letourneau scored another takedown off of Williams’ aggression. Williams locked up a triangle with about 10 seconds left in the fight, but wasn’t able to pull it out.

Williams really went for it:

Check out this clean knockdown courtesy of Valerie Letourneau:

Juan Archuleta def. Robbie Peralta by KO at :14 of round 3: Featherweight

Archuleta came out on fire, putting it on the veteran right away. A flying knee wobbled Peralta before Archuleta continued to control his more experienced opposition. Peralta struggled to get any separation, but did a sound job of remaining vertical in the opening round.

Archuleta blasted a takedown right away to open the second frame, but Peralta did a good job of scrambling back to his feet. Peralta struggled to get any separation and spent a large chunk of time with his back to the fence. Archuleta picked up a takedown with about ten seconds remaining in the round, but time expired before he could do anything with it.

The final frame didn’t last very long, thanks to Archuleta uncorking a massive overhand right that dropped Peralta. A couple of hammerfists later, and the referee stepped in to stop the fight.

When you press all of the buttons at the same time:

Look at this crafty flying knee from Archuleta:

Prelims:

Jay Jay Wilson def. David Conte by submission (RNC) at :59 of round 1

Ed Ruth def. Andy Murad by TKO at 4:59 of round 2

Tyrell Fortune def. Giovanni Sarran by TKO at 4:35 of round 2

Joey Davis def. Craig Plaskett by unanimous decision

Keri Melendez vs. Tiani Valle

Victor Rosas vs. Ricky Furar

Jacob Rosales vs. Joshua Jones