San Diego, CA — Brazilian flyweight Ilara Joanne, known professionally as “Arya Stark,” is in San Diego for Bellator 300, paired up with BJJ standout Jena Bishop.
And like her namesake from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire (known to TV viewers worldwide as Game of Thrones), she’s ready to cross another name off her infamous list.
“My list does have Jena Bishop on there,” Joanne (11-7) confirmed to Cageside Press during this week’s Bellator 300 media day.
As fun as it might be to call back to Westeros and the world of GOT, Joanne has some serious business to attend to his weekend. Bishop is undefeated in MMA and a terror on the mat. But Joanne/Stark is not afraid to go there with her.
“I think of myself as a well-rounded martial artist. Obviously I’m a lot more comfortable standing, but I feel very prepared to go on the ground if I need to,” she stated.
Experience, she expects, will play a role as well. “I’m a lot more comfortable being in a fight in the cage. Obviously experience does play a part. I feel like my experience is going to play a role being in the cage and trying to finish it in less than three rounds.”
Going for the finish is something Joanne will be looking to do, and she later expanded on that subject. “Every fight that I do, I train to knock somebody out, I train to submit [them]. That’s the whole reason [why] we train. We’re hoping that this particular fight does end in a knockout or submission. I’m looking forward to it.”
Watch the full Bellator 300 media day appearance by Ilara Joanne above.
