Ilara Joanne: Bellator 300 fight brings extra 'responsibility' to impress before possible PFL merger

07/10/2023 19:00

Ilara Joanne is out to impress against Jena Bishop in what could be her final bout under the Bellator banner at Bellator 300, which goes down Saturday night in San Diego.

Talks have reportedly been active for months about a potential merger between Bellator and rival company PFL, so Joanne feels the need to drop jaws this weekend.

"Every fighter fighting on this card has this responsibility to get to a new promotion coming off of a great win," Joanne told MMA Fighting ahead of her flyweight bout.

PFL doesn't have a women's flyweight division at the moment, but Joanne is open to whatever move is necessary in 2024, including vaulting up a weight class or two.

"There's no [flyweight] championship yet, but I think they've already done some flyweight fights," she said. "But if the division ends, I'm ready to try fighting in a different weight class, no problem. I'm ready to fight at any weight."

A member of Pitbull Brothers gym who trains in Brazil alongside Bellator stars Patricio Pitbull and Patricky Pitbull, Joanne began her run in the company by ruining Bec Rawlings' debut with a second-round kneebar. She then scored key wins over Alejandra Lara and Denise Kielholtz in 2022, however they were sandwiched between losses to Kana Watanabe, Vanessa Porto, and most recently Bruna Ellen.

Joanne (11-7) now faces undefeated grappler Bishop (5-0) at the Pechanga Arena.

"I had the best preparation possible," Joanne said. "I went after the best sparring partners with a style similar to hers. I believe I have the advantage on the feet, but if the fight goes to the ground, it's a good matchup for me. This is not jiu-jitsu, this is MMA."

"She's a great athlete and competed a lot in grappling, but jiu-jitsu and MMA are two completely different things," Joanne continued. "Jiu-jitsu is part of MMA. I think her strategy will be to take the fight to her comfort zone, but I'm ready to fight wherever the fight plays out."

The 29-year-old talent has won seven of her 11 professional wins by stoppages, including a trio of submissions. Now she looks to extend that record versus Bishop.

"I'm expecting a knockout or a submission," Joanne said. "That's what we work for our entire training camp — out entire lives, really. I want to go there and end it with a finish."