A historic 300th installment of Bellator MMA is coming this weekend on the MMA schedule. With one of the most stacked cards you will ever see from the organization. One of the three title fights on the main card will be this women’s flyweight bout between two Bellator veteran champions Liz Carmouche and Ilima Lei Macfarlane.
Read more for an in-depth look into this matchup and how to bet on this fight. The official Carmouche vs Macfarlane prediction will be discussed as well.
Liz Carmouche vs. Ilima Lei Macfarlane Information
Liz Carmouche vs. Ilima Lei Macfarlane
Location of the game: Pechanga Arena, San Diego, CA.
Date and Time: Saturday, October 07. 10:00 PM ET main card start.
How to Watch: Showtime | Paramount+
Last Fight Record
Let’s take a quick look at some of the records before we move on to our Carmouche vs Macfarlane prediction.
- Carmouche is coming off a title fight victory over DeAnna Bennett via fourth-round submission at Bellator 294.
- Macfarlane won her last bout at Bellator 295 against Kana Watanabe via split decision.
Carmouche vs. Macfarlane Betting Analysis
Liz Carmouche
Carmouche is a 39-year-old mixed martial artist with a professional MMA record of 19-7 with 13 finishes (eight TKO and five submissions) under her belt as the Bellator flyweight champion. She has competed in the best organizations like Invicta FC, UFC, Strikeforce, and now Bellator.
“Girl-Rilla” is a military veteran with an extensive background in martial arts. She has earned her black belt in BJJ and now trains others in her current residence city of San Diego–where this event will take place.
Ilima Lei Macfarlane
Macfarlane is a mixed martial artist with a professional record of 13-2. With two TKO wins and six submissions under her belt at the age of 33. She was the inaugural women’s flyweight champion for Bellator MMA back in 2017. After losing her belt in 2020, Macfarlane has worked her way back into title contention.
“The Ilimanator” is listed at 5’4″ and has the youth advantage in this bout. She is also currently residing in San Diego, so she will share that “home-field advantage” with her opponent this weekend at Pechanga Arena.
Her background in martial arts actually started by signing up for a class to lose weight as a young woman–taught by none other than Liz Carmouche. Macfarlane was just promoted to black belt in BJJ in August of this year.
Updates
No injuries have been reported to Bellator MMA.
Liz Carmouche vs. Ilima Lei Macfarlane Betting Preview
The Bellator best bets are always dependent on what the sportsbooks have for odds. The mainstream betting for the UFC is a lot different in an organization like Bellator. The betting lines are very different and can really throw bettors for a loop at most of their events.
According to the betting odds, Carmouche is coming into this week as the -275 betting favorite over the +215 former champion. There aren’t any more betting lines available for this bout quite yet this early on in fight week, but you should keep your eyes on your sportsbook for prop bets to become available as the week progresses.
Since there aren’t too many lines available to gauge this matchup. Breaking down tape on both women will be a key factor in making Bellator picks on this bout.
Breaking Stereotypes
After watching some past performances, it’s amazing how great Carmouche looks this late in her career. She has beaten and finished the best talent that the Bellator women’s flyweight division has to offer, and she’s putting together some of the best camps of her career.
It’s clear to see that Carmouche has reinvented how she trains and recovers by her being the spokeswoman for CBD and cannabis companies and even getting her degree in physiology. She is in incredible physical condition at an age where you usually see fighters well past their prime. Especially women and the bodily changes they go through much more than men.
Macfarlane is still just as dangerous as she was when she became champion in 2017. She might not have the same threat as Carmouche does right now. But she is still a very high-level BJJ fighter with the ability to submit anybody in the world if they make mistakes on the ground.
Carmouche vs. Macfarlane Betting Prediction
Bellator picks can be tough to make if you start to overthink them. When there are as many one-sided favorites as Bellator has usually, you tend to try to get “too cute” with betting picks and try to manipulate the betting lines.
- With that being said, the official Carmouche vs Macfarlane prediction is Carmouche will get her hand raised on Saturday night.
If you are feeling lucky, find a prop bet that has Carmouche getting yet another finish–which would be her 5th in a row, something that is unprecedented in MMA at this stage of her career.
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