It appears as if the next Bellator women’s flyweight title fight is set.
Valerie Letourneau won in a spirited contest against Kristina Williams at Bellator 201. It was a key win, as it likely secured her the next shot at Ilima-Lei Macfarlane’s flyweight title. The champ agreed, and expects to fight Letourneau next. With the match-up all but set in stone, Letourneau addressed the importance of the title fight at this point in her career with the media following her win Friday.
“It’s been a long time I’ve been fighting,” the Canadian said back stage. “I really want to get this belt, it’s very important for me. I don’t have the time to [go] backward. I’m seeing every fight right now as, it can be a championship fight, or it can be my last fight.” In short, it’s a title or bust for the former UFC title challenger, who has been fighting as a professional over a decade.
“The kind of pressure I feel — I don’t want this to finish. I would like to fight forever. But you know there’s going to have to be an end somewhere,” she continued. “So as long as I’m moving forward, I’ll be there. But I have no space to move backward. It’s just such a relief, even my last fight, also, just for me to finish with the win, and keep moving forward so I can keep pursuing my dream.”
On the subject of Macfarlane, Letourneau said of the champion that “she’s a smart fighter. I respect her a lot. She knows how to take the fight where she has to, where she’s good at.”
“She’s not the most technical striker,” said ‘Trouble.’ “But she knows enough to take the fight at the right place. We’re going to have to train hard for this fight, we’re got to prepare for this fight. I’ve had her in mind for a while, so we have a plan for this. Now she’s going to be my main focus.”
That, of course, was an allusion to Letourneau previously preparing for a title fight against Macfarlane. It’s something the Canadian had been led to believe would happen after her win against Kate Jackson in her Bellator debut last December. Instead, the fight with Williams was booked.
Asked by Cageside Press if stringing together a couple of wins was important to her, to show she still still belongs in the top echelon of the sport, Letourneau answered that “I still have so much. We keep learning, this is what’s incredible about this sport.” Once again, it’s all about moving forward. “I feel like I’m improving all the time, even in training. I’m always amazed. Training camp after training camp, you can always improve. I wish I was ten years younger, and I could keep improving probably ten years.”
With Ilima-Lei Macfarlane campaigning for Bellator to head to Hawaii next, does Letourneau want to see the promotion in Canada? Well, yes, but “I cannot blame her to want to fight in her country,” she said. “And she’s the champ. I will fight her where ever I have to. But my goal is to grab this belt, and fight in Canada.”
“When I hold this belt, I should be fighting in my own country. This is the plan,” Letourneau stated. “But I’m happy I’m getting the shot, I respect [her], I’m going to go fight her in her country, I have no problem with this.”
