Bellator 236 Macfarlane vs. Jackson: Odds, Picks & Betting Preview

• Bellator 236 goes Saturday, December 21st at 10:00 pm EST
• Can Macfarlane maintain her firm hold on the gold?
• Will Jackson head into 2020 as the new Bellator flyweight champion?

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Bellator has put on shows this year in some unique international locations and Bellator 236 is no different. The card goes in Honolulu, Hawaii on Saturday, December 21st.

Macfarlane is riding a 15 fight win streak dating back to her amateur days and has never tasted defeat in MMA competition. The next challenger for Macfarlane’s belt during her multi-year title reign is Kate Jackson.

Jackson is a veteran of the UK MMA scene and has traction off of back-to-back Bellator wins. The odds for this main event and my analysis of this flyweight title fight can be found below.

Bellator 236 Odds

Odds taken Dec 15th

Kate Jackson was on the Ultimate Fighter series and presently has a 3-1 record with Bellator MMA. The bulk of the losses that Jackson has suffered have been to champions or elite contenders (Valérie Létourneau, Tatiana Suarez, Joanna Jędrzejczyk).

Jackson is on a two fight win streak having defeated hot prospect Anastasia Yankova and scoring a TKO over well regarded Lena Ovchynnikova. Kate Jackson has not tasted defeat for the last two years but Macfarlane is quickly approaching six years without a loss.

Jackson is an accomplished fighter to be sure but I don’t see her stopping Macfarlane’s momentum on Saturday night.

Macfarlane Remains Unbeaten Champ

Macfarlane has significant W’s in her last few outings with wins over Valérie Létourneau, Alejandra Lara, and Veta Arteaga in her last three. The next couple of Bellator cards feature multiple flyweights that have a strong case for challenging the winner of Jackson vs Macfarlane in 2020.

The partisan reception for Macfarlane should be deafening when the Hawaiian native enters the cage. The last time Macfarlane fought there, she almost blew the roof off the place.

This didn’t tweet out Initially, so here it is again:

Ilima-Lei Macfarlane taps Valerie Letourneau in the third round to retain her title, and the crowd goes BANANAS. #BellatorHawaii pic.twitter.com/7cAoI6DZqZ

— Dan Tom (@DanTomMMA) December 16, 2018

Though Macfarlane has more submission victories on paper, Jackson has a quality submission grappling game in her own right. Both are well-rounded fighters though, with Macfarlane showing off some ground and pound prowess in her last fight.

This resulted in the cut to Veta Arteaga that lead to the fight being halted via doctor stoppage. The bulk of Jackson’s wins have come via (T)KO so this fight could play out in exciting fashion regardless of where the fight goes.

Bellator 236 Tale of the Tape

Macfarlane has developed to where she’s arguably the biggest homegrown star that Bellator MMA has ever promoted, but stakes are also high for Jackson. She has an opportunity to be the first woman out of the UK to capture a major mixed-martial-arts title.

It would not be completely out of the question to imagine a scenario where Jackson wins. I just think the smart money is betting on the unbeaten champion who seems to improve by leaps and bounds on a fight to fight basis. I see Macfarlane scoring a submission victory at Bellator 236.

Pick: Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (-500)