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Bellator 186 results: Ilima Macfarlane taps Emily Ducote in fifth to win inaugural flyweight title

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Bellator has its first women’s flyweight champion, and it’s Ilima Macfarlane. But Emily Ducote did not go down without a major fight.

Macfarlane (7-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) finally put Ducote (6-3 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) away with an armbar and a verbal submission from a triangle choke late in the fifth round. But Ducote tested her most of the fight in what may have been a close one had it gone to the judges. The finish came at the 3:42 mark of the final round.

The inaugural women’s flyweight title bout was the co-main event of today’s Bellator 186 event at Bryce Jordan Center on Penn State’s campus in University Park, Pa. It aired on Spike following prelims on MMAjunkie.

Ducote landed an early kick, but Macfarlane countered with a quick combo. Macfarlane swung hard seconds later with a right, but was just off the mark. A Ducote leg kick was on the spot, and Macfarlane moved in to clinch up. She landed a knee, then another, from a Thai clinch before Ducote finally broke away a minute in. Ducote briefly dragged Macfarlane to the canvas 100 seconds in, but the Hawaiian was right back up.

Macfarlane stalked Ducote down not long after that and landed several heavy shots. Ducote clinched up trying to recover, but again Macfarlane landed knees to the body. Then Macfarlane scooped Ducote up for a takedown right in front of Ducote’s corner. She tried to take her back, then went after a rear-naked choke. She had it briefly, then worked to half-guard and landed elbows from up top with 90 seconds left. With a minute left, Macfarlane went after a striaght armbar, then jumped over to near mount. She stayed after the armbar and turned it over with 10 seconds left. But Ducote survived the frame.

Ducote kicked early in the second, but ate a couple punches from Macfarlane after. Macfarlane landed a solid jab that was too quick for Ducote to catch up to. Ducote worked kicks to Macfarlane’s lead leg, but they didn’t appear to be stopping her. When she kicked harder, Macfarlane threw harder counters. Macfarlane seemed more patient in the first half of the frame and was willing to eat a few leg kicks – and they may have started to take their toll. With each one, Ducote’s corner got more and more confident with Macfarlane backing up. The kicks let Ducote climb right back into the fight.

Ducote started the third with more leg kicks. If she lacked the same kind of punching power that Macfarlane had, she seemed poised to make up for it with the kicks. Macfarlane tried to chase her down for a takedown just about a minute in, but Ducote wasn’t there. Macfarlane put together a combination 90 seconds in, then clinched up with Ducote for more knees. That was where she found success in the first and went back to it when she needed to.

Ducote finally broke away, but not long after, Macfarlane landed perhaps her best combo of the fight. When Ducote threatened with punches, Macfarlane shot for a single-leg takedown. But with 90 seconds left, she found herself still working to complete it. With 45 seconds left, Macfarlane tried twice to pick Ducote up and failed. But the third time was the charm and she finished the round with a few punches from on top.

Ducote opened the fourth with another leg kick, but ate a few punches for her effort. They tied up briefly, but Macfarlane wasn’t able to get anything done in the clinch. Macfarlane continued to work through Ducote’s kicks, but with two minutes left Ducote turned up the aggression in her striking game. A solid right from Macfarlane landed, but she struggled to put combinations together and Ducote stayed aggressive. With 40 seconds left, Macfarlane got the fight to the ground. But Ducote reversed it with a trip and got to side control to end the frame.

Macfarlane opened the final frame with a pair of right jabs, then just missed a Superman punch. Ninety seconds in, Ducote got back to her leg kicks, but found herself taken down by Macfarlane. But there once again, Ducote reversed to get on top. Macfarlane worked for a triangle choke from the bottom and had half the round keep working at it. She finally locked it up tight enough to get Ducote’s arm and roll it over for an armbar finish when Ducote verbally tapped.

Up-to-the-minute Bellator 186 results include:

  • Ilima Macfarlane def. Emily Ducote via verbal submission (armbar) – Round 5, 3:42 – to win inaugural women’s flyweight title
  • Phil Davis def. Leo Leite via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Ed Ruth def. Chris Dempsey via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 0:27
  • Saad Awad def. Zach Freeman via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:07
  • Scott Clymer def. Michael Benjamin Putnam via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:07
  • Mike Wilkins def. Brett Martinez via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:09
  • Michael Trizano def. Mike Otwell via submission (D’Arce choke) – Round 2, 2:07
  • Dominic Mazzotta def. Matthew Lozano via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 1, 2:37
  • Logan Storley def. Matt Secor via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Tywan Claxton def. Jonathan Bonilla-Bowman via knockout (flying knee) – Round 1, 1:29
  • Frankie Buenafuente def. Francis Healy via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Andrew Salas def. Ethan Goss via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
  • Josh Fremd def. Ryan Parker via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:25

For complete coverage of Bellator 186, check out the MMA Events section of the site.


Filed under: Bellator, Featured, News

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