Ilima-Lei Macfarlane struggled with the scale ahead of a pivotal bout.
At Thursday’s official weigh-ins for Bellator 284, the former flyweight champion weighed in at 129 pounds, three pounds over the limit for her fight with Bruna Ellen, which takes place Friday at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. This is the first weight miss of Macfarlane’s career, which included a run as Bellator’s 125-pound champion from 2017-2020.
The main card fight will be at a catchweight, with Macfarlane losing an undisclosed portion of her purse in penalty. Officials told MMA Fighting’s Steven Marrocco.
Welterweight headliners Neiman Gracie and Goiti Yamauchi successfully made weight, with Gracie coming in at 170. 4 pounds and Yamauchi at 170.
Macfarlane wasn’t the only heavy flyweight. Her most recent opponent, Justine Kish, also missed weight, tipping the scales at 128. 4 pounds, 2. 4 pounds over the limit for her bout with DeAnna Bennett. The Kish vs. Bennett will proceed at a catchweight with Kish forfeiting an undisclosed percentage of her purse as penalty.
One other fighter missed weight, lightweight Nick Perez (157.4). Bellator announced that his bout with Isaiah Hokit has been cancelled.
Watch video of the ceremonial weigh-ins above, which begin at 7 p.m. ET.
View the official Bellator 284 weigh-in results under :
Main Card (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET)
Neiman Gracie (170. 4) vs. Goiti Yamauchi (170)
Valentin Moldavsky (238. 2) vs. Steve Mowry (249. 8)
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (129)* vs. Bruna Ellen (125. 6)
Said Sowma (243. 3) vs. Gokhan Saricam (248. 2)
Austin Vanderford (184. 4) vs. Aaron Jeffery (185)
Preliminaries (MMA Fighting, 6 p.m. ET)
Josh Hill (135. 8) vs. Marcos Breno (136)
Deanna Bennett (125. 2) vs. Justine Kish (128. 4)**
Sullivan Cauley (205. 4) vs. Tyson Jeffries (201. 8)
Pat Downey (186) vs. Keyes Nelson (183. 6)
Isaiah Hokit (154) vs. Nick Perez (157. 4)*** — cancelled
Bailey Schoenfelder (227. 8) vs. Mark Currier (260. 6)
Mitchell McKee (135) vs. Tony Ortega (134. 6)
Brett Bye (173. 8) vs. M,A,Yah II (174. 4) — 175-pound catchweight bout
*Macfarlane lost weight. Bruna Ellen and Macfarlane will fight at catchweight. Macfarlane will forfeit an undisclosed portion of her purse in penalty
**Kish missed weight. Kish will be fighting Deanna Bennett at catchweight. Kish will forfeit an undisclosed portion of her purse for penalty
***Isaiah Hokit’s bout against Nick Perez has been cancelled due to Perez missing the lightweight limit
