Bellator 201 Results and Highlights: Ilima-Lei Macfarlane sub Alejandra Lara, Ryan Couture by Saad Awad TKO

Bellator 201 has just finished with Ilima-Lei Macfarlane successfully defending her flyweight title against Alejandra Lara in the main event. Macfarlane leaned over her grappling hook, taking Lara to the carpet where she made a nice third armbar round to hold her belt. Saad Awad is busy doing business tonight in the co-main event, getting his hands on Ryan Couture to complete a first-round TKO. Awad is now experiencing a four-game winning streak that should prompt him to fight for a big name in the near future.

Valerie Letourneau also went to war against Kristina Williams, each athlete receiving all sorts of strikes. When all was said and done, it was Letourneau who went off with the nod of unanimity. By opening the main card, Juan Archuleta had a great performance against Robbie Peralta and finally scored a knockout in the third round to clinch the biggest win of his career.

Main Card:

Ilima-Lei Macfarlane has won. Alejandra Lara by Submission (Armbar) at 3:55 of Round 3: (W) Flyweight Title

Macfarlane fought to get the fight to the ground, and arranged to take the lower position. From his back, Macfarlane attacked a triangle, and stood on hold for a substantial amount of time. Lara finally escaped and accumulated some time in control, but Macfarlane was able to recover before the end of the round. Macfarlane got the draw in the second round and went full mount. Several elbows landed for Macfarlane, causing Lara to abandon her back. Some other ground strikes landed for Macfarlane while Lara was unable to shake her for the remainder of the round.

The last round saw Macfarlane catch a withdrawal from a failed botched backfist. Lara showed it again, and Macfarlane unloaded several punches before Lara turned around and left the mount full. After a few elbows struck Lara's head, Macfarlane gently grabbed an armbar. Lara defended herself very well and remained hooked for a long time, but Macfarlane was not dismounted, made the adjustments and got the tap.

This was the beginning of the end for Lara:

Discover this sweet attempt of Macfarlane:

Saad Awad defeated. Ryan Couture by TKO at 4:29 of turn 1: 160 pounds

Couture came out trying to close the distance and win with Awad against the cage. Awad was able to reverse the position several times to continually return to the open space. Awad's right hand and head shots began to land on the regular, then a big right hand stunned Couture to set up the final sequence. Awad began to swarm with his enemy, getting a series of punches, looping Couture, and forcing the referee to take action and stop the fight.

Awad went to H.A.M. to finish:

Valérie Letourneau Kristina Williams: (W) Flyweight

The two athletes met in the middle and got to work. Williams won a right overhand that seemed to upset his opponent, but Letourneau quickly got back on his feet. As Williams went for a kick, Letourneau pointed it out with a right hand, sending it to the canvas. A bunch of ground strikes landed for Letourneau from inside the Williams Guard, but after a lull, the referee picked them up.

The second round was really back and forth! Each fighter had his moments as they went shot for blow, mixing punches and kicks. Williams found much more success with her strikes than she did in the first round, and began to integrate her elbows into the mix. Williams came out very aggressively to start the final round, throwing a series of straight, but Letourneau has leveled and put on the back. After a stand-up referee, Letourneau scored another withdrawal from Williams' assault. Williams locked a triangle with about 10 seconds left in the fight, but was unable to pull it off.

Williams really made the decision:

Take a look at this victory of Valerie Letourneau:

Juan Archuleta def. Robbie Peralta by KO at: 14 of lap 3: featherweight

Archuleta went out on fire, putting him on the veteran right away. A flying knee swayed Peralta before Archuleta continued to control his more experienced opposition. Peralta struggled to get a split, but did a good job staying upright in the first round.

Archuleta immediately thundered a takedown to open the second frame, but Peralta managed to get back on his feet. Peralta struggled to separate and spent much of her time back at the fence. Archuleta picked up a grounding with about ten seconds left in the round, but the time has expired before he could do anything with him.

The last image did not last long, thanks to Archuleta leading to a massive reversal right Peralta. A couple of hammers later, and the referee stepped in to stop the fight.

When you press all the buttons at the same time:

Look at that clever flying knee of Archuleta:

Series:

Jay Jay Wilson def. David Conte by bid (RNC) at: 59 of Round 1

Ed Ruth def. Andy Murad by TKO at 4:59 of lap 2

Tyrell Fortune def. Giovanni Sarran by TKO at 4:35 of turn 2

Joey Davis Def. Craig Plaskett by unanimous decision

Keri Melendez against Tiani Valle

Victor Rosas against Ricky Furar

Jacob Rosales against Joshua Jones