One perfectly placed elbow turned the tide in favor of Ilima-Lei Macfarlane on Saturday night at Bellator 220.
After admittedly struggling with challenger Veta Arteaga (5-3 MMA, 4-3 BMMA) in the co-headlining bout, women’s flyweight champion Macfarlane (10-0 MMA, 9-0 BMMA) connected with a slicing elbow from top position. The gash on Arteaga’s forehead instantly started to pour blood everywhere. In the next break of action, the cageside physician decided the contest had to be stopped, giving Macfarlane the win by third-round TKO.
Macfarlane generously offered an immediate rematch post-fight, clearly not entirely satisfied with the outcome. It was her vicious elbow that did the damage, though, producing one of the cleanest and deepest cuts to occur in a major title fight in recent memory.
MMA Junkie photographer extraordinaire Dave Mandel was cageside at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., for the bout, and he captured some gory photos from the moment the cut happened to the moment the bout was stopped. Check them out below, but beware, they’re not for the faint of heart, especially if you don’t want to see some exposed skull:
For complete coverage of Bellator 220, check out the MMA Events section of the site.
The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.
