Check out the rundown of Saturday’s Bellator 236 main card, including Ilima-Lei Macfarlane defending her flyweight belt against Kate Jackson in the main event.
Bellator 236, the second part of this weekend’s promotional doubleheader, kicks off on Saturday, December 21st, from the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. This main card can be seen live on DAZN at 10:00 PM ET.
This event will be capped off with a flyweight title bout between the champ, Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, and the challenger, Kate Jackson. Hawaii’s own undefeated queen has been nothing short of spectacular in her rise to glory. Along her climb to 10-0, Macfarlane has finished eight of her victims, with five of them being consecutive inside the distance results. Her grappling ism stellar and her standup isn’t too far behind. Is there anyone that Bellator has to offer that can dethrone her?
The 11-3-1 Kate Jackson is getting her shot at championship gold. After coming up short on TUF season 23, Jackson joined the Bellator promotion and has since posted up a 3-1 record. In her last fight, she mounted Lena Lena Ovchynnikova and dropped some serious elbows to secure the first round stoppage. Jackson seems as ready as ever, but is she the going to be the one to take the crown from the champion?
The Bellator 236 com-main event will involve the first of the company’s Featherweight Grand Prix Quarterfinals matchups when the 15-0 undefeated AJ McKee gets down with 20-9 veteran Derek Campos. McKee is Bellator’s home grown talent that has been consistently rising to the occasion as he’s taken continual steps up in competition. He can pretty much do it all. He can grapple just as well as he can strike, and has the gas tank to back it all up.
Standing across form him will be Bellator veteran Derek Campos. The heavy handed workhorse packs some serious firepower in his hands, but is also beyond capable of blasting a double leg to take the fight to the mat. Campos has already faced some of the promotion’s greats, like Michael Chandler and Patrick Pitbull… TWICE! He may have come up short in those affairs, but carries that veteran experience with him. He might just need every bit of said experience if he hopes to dish out the first loss of McKee’s career to advance in the tournament.
Also on the Bellator 236 card, the 9-0 undefeated Juliana Velasquez will tangle with the 5-2 Bruna Ellen at flyweight. Before that, a pair of Hawaiians will duke it out when the 13-9 Zach Zane and the 3-0 Nainoa Dung go heads up. Another Hawaiian in the form of 12-1 Cheyden Leialoha will get a crack at the Bellator 236 main card as he takes on the 7-1 Roufusport fighter, Raufeon Stots. Opening up the main card portion of the event, two fighters will look to rebound after botching their promotional debuts. Longtime MMA veteran, Kiichi Kunimoto, will be squaring off with Hard Knocks 365’s Jason Jackson.
Main card: DAZN 10:00 PM
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane vs. Kate Jackson: (W) Flyweight Title
AJ McKee vs. Derek Campos: Featherweight Tournament Quarterfinals
Juliana Velasquez vs. Bruna Ellen: (W) Flyweight
Zach Zane vs. Nainoa Dung: Lightweight
Kiichi Kunimoto vs. Jason Jackson: Welterweight
Prelims: Online 8:30 PM
Kai Kamaka III vs. Spencer Higa: Featherweight
Swayne Makana Lunasco vs. Kaylan Gorospe: Bantamweight
Keoni Diggs vs. Scotty Hao: Lightweight
Nate Yoshimura vs. Chas Dunhour: Flyweight
Dustin Barca vs. Brandon Pieper: Lightweight
Ben Wilhelm vs. Ke’ali’i Kanekoa: Welterweight