Historian Kate Jackson seeks to become the first British Bellator champion

Never before has a woman from Britain had a world title at Bellator or UFC.

Nor was there a British Women’s World Champion at Strikeforce.

A British woman has never challenged for a world title in any of these promotions.

Historian Kate Jackson First Bellator Champion

Then, when Kate Jackson from England travels to Hawaii to face the undefeated flyweight champion Ilima-Ley Macfarlane in her own backyard at the Bellator 236 main event, she will be making history by just stepping on the ring. .

"It has been a long time for me and for women's sports in Britain," says Jackson (11-3-1), who grew up in Lostwithiel, Cornwall and reached the semifinals of The Ultimate Fighter. UFC before. signing for Bellator. "It's a great opportunity."

Jackson enters its main event with Macfarlane (10-0) in a two fight winning streak, after defeating Lena Ovchynikova by technical knockout in its last bout.

This result came from a medical interruption after Jackson's elbows had lacerated Ovchynikova to the point where the Ukrainian's face was stained with blood.

There is no doubt, therefore, that Jackson is capable of the cruelty needed to finish Macfarlane, even if no woman has accomplished this, but it has not always been easy for the British. Jackson has worked with a sports psychologist since a fight in 2017 that saw the fly agarizing a friend.

"It was something I was not comfortable with at all and I just wanted to know I could do the job, which I did," says Jackson. "But it wasn't much fun and I don't think it's something I wanted to do again."

However, the most typical nerves that bounce during a fight are generally kept in check.

"There will be more when I get to Hawaii and start the fight week in the media and photo shoots, then it will crumble," says Jackson. "However, I'm already trying my best to assimilate everything."

Some fighters would be more shocked by the significance of the occasion, but in Jackson's favor, his experience is fighting in the territory of the opponents, having faced former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk in Olsztyn, Poland in 2013. .

In addition, any pressure is eased a bit by the fact that Jackson did not enter the sport in order to be a world champion.

"I started the sport about 10 years ago, in a time when there really wasn't women's opportunities in major promotions, so it would have been quite difficult for me to want to be a world champion," she says. "But it's improving fast. The amateur scene now for women is really cool. You have the MMA International Federation and its tournaments. There are now opportunities for women to find opponents and fight about half a dozen times. a year, and there are programs ready to put these fights in. So it looks very, very positive. "

But if Jackson's goal when it first started wasn't necessarily to have a world title, but if he didn't even have the opportunity to dream about that moment, what was the driving factor in getting him to the main event? of Bellator 236, competing for a foreign soil championship?

"I know it's cliché, but for me, it was always about being the best I can be," says Jackson. "Training all year, whether or not you have a fight, I compete pretty much in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, so it's more of a constant, steady improvement. Anyway, that's probably more important to me. me than any of the extrinsic goals. "

"Obviously, every fight is really important and I'm super competitive, I wouldn't be doing that if it wasn't, and this title fight is an incredible opportunity, but the belt is almost an added bonus. This is the opponent and the opponent. I wanted to, in the first place. "

And what does Jackson think of his opponent?

"I only met Ilima-Law briefly. She was in London for my last fight in June," says Jackson. "He seems like a very nice person and draws attention to sports without talking about garbage. Sometimes I understand the appeal of garbage, but personally it's not something I enjoy doing. I'm probably very stereotypically British. and reserved in that regard. "

"Obviously, as a fighter, Ilima-Lei has a really solid skill set, he is unbeaten, he has a background in wrestling and a good fighting game, so it's a pretty exciting test for me."

Macfarlane does have a good fighting game, with six of his 10 wins per submission, but Jackson is happier when the fight goes on the field.

"I would be very surprised if the fight didn't hit the ground."