Macfarlane open to 'dream fight' against teammate Carmouche

Ilima-Lei Macfarlane is more than willing to fight friend and teammate Liz Carmouche if it comes to it.

The Bellator flyweight champion said she hopes Carmouche, who was released by the UFC last week, signs with Bellator.

"If me and Liz had to fight each other at some point, we're down," Macfarlane, who trains with Carmouche at San Diego Combat Academy, told theScore on Tuesday. "We've already talked about that, too. That's like my dream fight and then I would retire right after that fight."

The undefeated Hawaiian fighter, who has defended the title three times since winning it in 2017, said she hurt for Carmouche when she found out "Girl-Rilla" was no longer on the UFC roster.

Carmouche, a women's MMA pioneer who challenged for the UFC flyweight title in her last bout, was informed of her release while in Washington, D.C., doing promotional work for the company.

"(Our manager) called me and told me what happened, and I was just like, 'F---,'" Macfarlane said. "It's just so shitty how the UFC did it, ask her to come out there - which she's also paying for her own way out of pocket. She's not with her family right around the holidays when everything's crazy, and then they cut her. ... I thought that was really shitty."

Macfarlane said everyone wants Carmouche to sign with Bellator, and that it's now just a matter of getting a deal done.

"I think Liz deserves to be with a promotion that appreciates her and everything she's done for the sport, and treats her as such and respects her," Macfarlane said. "I'm super pumped. I really want her to come over to Bellator. Everybody's kind of on the same page with that - our coaches and trainers, our management, Liz, Bellator. Everybody wants it to happen, so we're trying to figure that out right now."

Macfarlane defends her belt against Kate Jackson in the Bellator 236 main event, which takes place Dec. 21 at Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu.