Bellator 278 & 279 to be held in Hawaii, headlined by return of Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, Cyborg title defense, and Bantamweight Grand Prix

Bellator is coming back to the islands. 

The MMA organization, which last held a card in Hawaii in December 2019, is returning to the Neal S. Blaisdell Center for a pair of fight cards on April 22 and 23 for Bellator 278 and 279.

Bellator’s announcement comes after COVID-19 restrictions were eased across the state of Hawaii. 

Ilima-Lei Macfarlane will make her return to the cage at Bellator 279 after not fighting since her first career loss to Juliana Velasquez on Dec. 10, 2020. The Punahou alumna and former Bellator women’s flyweight champion will face Justine Kish.

No fights for the April 22 Bellator 278 event have been announced at this time.

On April 23, men’s bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis will face Raufeon Stots, while former champion Kyoji Horiguchi faces Patchy Mix as part of the $1-million bantamweight grand prix. MMA legend Cris Cyborg will also face Arlene Blencowe in Saturday’s co-main event of Bellator 279.

Tickets for Bellator 279 will become available to the public on Friday at Bellator.com, as well as on Ticketmaster.

Bellator 278 will not have general ticket availability as the event is dedicated for military and first responders with ticket redemption details to be announced at a later date.

Bellator 278’s main card begins on April 22 at 4 p.m., while the 279 card begins on April 23 at 4:30 p.m. Prelims will begin at 2 p.m. & 2:30 p.m. respectively. Both cards will be streamed on Showtime.