Hawaii 5-0: Ilima-Lei MacFarlane talks fame, flyweights, representing home

The 125-pound women's division is rapidly becoming a major part of Bellator MMA, and Ilima-Lei MacFarlane is at the forefront of the charge.

MacFarlane steps into the Bellator cage on Saturday in Thackerville, Okla., and she looks to remain undefeated against Oklahoma City native Emily Ducote. In her last two fights, MacFarlane picked up a pair of submission wins over Rebecca Ruth and Amber Tackett.

The 26-year-old Hawaiian recently spoke to theScore ahead of Bellator 167, addressing a handful of topics in anticipation of what could be a 5-0 start to her pro career:

At any point during your undefeated amateur run did you push to go pro to make some money and get some exposure?

No, not at all, because I literally didn't want any of that. I never thought that I was going to even compete, much less make this my profession. It was something I just did for fun and (coach Manolo Hernandez) was the one that has been pushing me.

I was in grad school when I joined the gym, and I was going to school to become a teacher or an anthropologist so I had no desire whatsoever to turn pro or make this a career and it kind of just happened.

With three wins in Bellator's flyweight division, do you consider yourself to be the uncrowned flyweight champion?

I don't consider myself to be the uncrowned flyweight champion, but I do consider myself the front-runner or the top contender. That's just going strictly off of my record within the Bellator cage. I know a lot of fighters that they've signed have a lot more (overall professional) experience, a lot more fights under their belt, but as far as inside the Bellator cage, I'm the one that’s leading that right now.

You've had words with Anastasia Yankova in the past, what did you think of her most recent fight (a close split decision win for Yankova)? Is she still an opponent you're seeking out?

After that fight I thought I was better than her. I don't even think that this fight would make sense really as a matchup. It would only make sense for marketing purposes but otherwise I'm better than her. I guess in that sense I was a little disappointed. I'm not discrediting her striking, she can hit hard and she's a Muay Thai practitioner, but she didn't look like a world champion to me.

There are definitely other fighters in the division that caught my attention, including veterans like Sara D’Alelio, Colleen Schneider. If I were to get this win against Emily, then I'm interested in the Colleen fight because it's in LA, it's her debut, and that would be like a really frickin' huge test for me against someone of her caliber.

All of your Bellator fights have taken place against opponents competing in their hometown. Do you enjoy heading into enemy territory?

I like that because I actually feel more pressure and I get more nervous when I'm fighting in front of a crowd that I know, I feel more pressure to perform for them. In that sense, I'm okay with being the villain. And also because I'm not disrespectful to my opponents. I don't feel like the villain whenever I go into someone else's hometown ... It's cool to get away to other states. I'm always excited to travel. I came from Hawaii so everything is a foreign country to me and that's always fun.

Many great fighters having come out of Hawaii, like former UFC champion B.J. Penn and featherweight contender Max Holloway. Do you see yourself as part of that lineage?

I definitely have a lot more of my career to go before I'm even able to be mentioned in the same sentence as them. At the same time, I always rep Hawaii, I'm always repping my home, I'm always supporting the other fighters from Hawaii, always watching them get after it. I'm a local girl. Hawaii is always going to be my home until I die, it doesn't matter how long I live up here in the mainland for. Hawaii is always going to have a special place in my heart. That's where I'm from.

Hopefully one day I will be able to feel a stronger connection to all the greats that came out of Hawaii and that I am one of the greats that came out of Hawaii.