Gallery Photos: Best of Ilima-Lei Macfarlane view 17 images

It’s been a wild ride for women’s flyweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane ever since Bellator announced last week that she’ll be headlining the promotion’s first event in Hawaii.

But the “cherry on top” came Monday, when Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell proclaimed Sept. 17 Ilima-Lei Macfarlane Day in honor of the city’s hometown star (via Twitter).

Congratulations to @ilimanator for being crowned the #BellatorMMA Female Flyweight World Champion! We’re proud of you and all of your accomplishments, and we’re excited to see the future ahead of you. Good luck on the big fight in December! #Ilimanator #BellatorHawaii pic.twitter.com/Vpkjex6ujv — Kirk Caldwell (@MayorKirkHNL) September 18, 2018

Congratulations to @ilimanator for being crowned the #BellatorMMA Female Flyweight World Champion! In your honor, this day, September 17, 2018, is proclaimed Ilima-Lei Macfarlane Day! On behalf of our whole city, we’re proud of you and all of your accomplishments, and we’re excited to see the future ahead of you. Good luck on the big fight in December! #Ilimanator#PineapplePrincess #BellatorHawaii#TeamHawaii

Macfarlane, 28, has been a professional fighter for three-and-a-half years and made her Bellator debut Aug. 28, 2015. She remains undefeated (8-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA), winning the promotion’s inaugural 125-pound title last year with a submission of Emily Ducote. Macfarlane defended her belt for the first time in June, and up next for her is a title fight against veteran Valerie Letourneau on Dec. 15 at Neal S. Blaisdell Center. It’s a huge deal for the “Pineapple Princess” to headline in her hometown for such a landmark event.

Outside of the cage, Macfarlane, a graduate of San Diego State, created The Ilimanator Inaugural Scholarship for native girls in March.

That combination of achievement in the sport and making a difference in her community is why Caldwell was so eager to bestow the honor upon Macfarlane (via Twitter).

“For me, and I know for the people of this place, we look for role models, and we want to show that we’re as good as anywhere in the world,” Caldwell said. “She’s shown that and even more. She’s an example not just for the youth of our community, but for everybody.”

Said Macfarlane: “Every day I just keep thinking, ‘This can’t get any better.’ But, today, meeting the mayor, getting my own day, receiving this proclamation, having our heart-to-heart talk, that was just the cherry on top of an amazing week back home.”

What did that include?

She was on the set of “Hawaii Five-O.”

She attended her high school’s football game.

She tossed out T-shirts at a University of Hawaii volleyball game.

The Bellator MMA champ Ilima-Lei Macfarlane in the house to throw out shirts to the #HawaiiWVB crowd! pic.twitter.com/nYiGbAPJAi — Hawaii W. Volleyball (@HawaiiWVB) September 15, 2018

For more on Bellator in Hawaii, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.

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