Bellator's Veta Arteaga speaks out on title-fight loss because of gruesome gash, looks ahead

Veta Arteaga was almost 12 minutes into her first Bellator title bid, and actually doing well, when an elbow from flyweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane landed clean on her forehead.

Arteaga didn’t make much of it right away, thinking it was no more than a welt. But then she got up and noticed the blood pouring down. First, she thought it was Macfarlane’s. Then she realized it was hers. That’s when referee Jason Herzog said he was calling in the doctor.

Those are words that “no fighter wants to hear,” Arteaga said, as they obviously indicate that something is amiss. And, as pretty much everyone could see from the strip of white – Arteaga’s skull – that peaked through the gash, that was certainly the case here.

“When the doctor came in, he just said, ‘You can cover it up, but the blood is going to keep dripping in her eyes,’” Arteaga told MMA Junkie. “I said, ‘I can see. I don’t feel the blood as like a distraction.’ But then he looked at me. ‘It’s just way too deep.’ And I was like, ‘Crap.’ At that moment, I felt like the world paused. It was just a moment of shock, like ‘this is not happening.’ That wasn’t the way this was supposed to turn out.”

Arteaga’s tone recounting the anti-climatic ending to the Bellator 220 co-main event, however, is far from somber. In fact, she says that last bit with a laugh, before adding a positive spin.

“At the same time, I was like, ‘Wow. That’s just to show you that anything can happen in a fight, and anything can happen at any moment,’” Arteaga said. “I’m definitely going to reflect and learn, and I already have, as far as how I want to move on as a fighter on situations and how I want to get better.

“It was like a moment of shock, that’s what it was. It’s just like, ‘No way, this is not happening. I’m doing so good, I won the first, I won the second.’ It was just like an awe moment. It was a crazy feeling. A lot of mixed emotions. Then, at the end, I felt upset. I mean, I felt upset, and I felt proud of myself at the same time, because I was able to do good.”

(Note: Arteaga was ahead on one of the judges’ scorecards, while the other two had it even going into the third).

Four days later, Arteaga was doing just fine. Overall, she received 15 stitches on a cut that looked “worse than how it feels,” and that was basically it. There was no dizziness, no concussion, just a deep cut.

Mentally, too, Arteaga was ready to move on. Already done with with the brief “grieving process” of her lost title bid, she was more interested in looking ahead than sulking over it.

“The other day I woke up, and I was like, ‘You know what? It happened. Oh well, I just have to focus on what I want to do for the next fight.'” Arteaga said. “And how I want to perform on the next fight – whether it’s with Ilima or not.

“It doesn’t stop me from still being hungry and motivated. It doesn’t hold me back from the goal and the plan. So that’s an exciting part, feeling that I still have that drive, that I still want to be up there at the top and achieve my goals.”

Arteaga’s gone through losses before – twice, in fact, both split decisions. She’s experienced frustration, too, particularly when the scorecards gave Anastasia Yankova a fight Arteaga was confident she had won at Bellator 161. This time, though, the feeling was different. “Surreal” is one word she can find to describe it, or as if it was a “dream” that she needed to wake up from.

“I felt like I didn’t lose, nor did I win,” Arteaga said. “It was just a moment of pause.”

But she did lose via third-round TKO. And though it took a doctor’s call to wave it off, Arteaga is clear in that she doesn’t want to take away from the champ’s merits in beating her.

“(Macfarlane) just capitalized sooner than I did, that’s what it was,” Arteaga said. “It was a chess match and who was going to move quicker, and she just made the first move.”

Macfarlane (10-0 MMA, 9-0 BMMA) was candid in her assessment of the bout. She said she was surprised by her opponent’s solid defensive wrestling and acknowledged the good preparation made by Arteaga (5-3 MMA, 4-3 BMMA) and her team, which led her to struggle early.

At the same time, Macfarlane is a self-admitted slow starter and knew that, as tired as she felt, it was about finding the perfect opportunity to pounce. As a result, she added yet another finish win to her unbeaten resume and got to keep her belt.

Macfarlane could have just taken that win and run with it. Instead, she went over to Arteaga and said she had the immediate rematch if she wanted it. Macfarlane would later confirm that in the cage and talking to reporters backstage, with no shortage of praise for her opponent.

For her part, Arteaga says she would be “more than honored” to share the cage with Macfarlane again. She also believes it’s a fight that would have fan appeal, as well, given how the first match went. But Arteaga is also prepared to handle someone else if, by any chance, the seemingly logical rematch isn’t next for her.

“I’ve already proven that I can be there, and I’m also an elite athlete just like Ilima is an elite athlete,” Arteaga said. “We’re both well rounded. So, if Bellator says for me one more fight – I don’t want to get my hopes up too much and get too set on, ‘No, you promised me a rematch.’

“I’m just going to be ready for whatever the next step is and just focus on myself, on what I’ve got to do to perform at my best. And let the W’s just take care of itself and eventually I’ll get back to having that title shot and having a different outcome.”

Arteaga is excited about getting back in camp, but she’s also not in a rush. She believes she’ll be ready to get back to training by the end of May, if not sooner, but she also is planning on some vacations. December, she says, seems like a good turnaround.

Interestingly enough, Macfarlane also would like to stick to her twice-a-year fight calendar that usually includes one winter outing – November or December, she said in her post-fight interview.

Last year, that fight happened in Macfarlane’s native Hawaii, where she defended her belt against Valerie Letourneau. If Hawaii is in Bellator’s plans again this year, the champ said the rematch with Arteaga would be a perfect fit for the local crowd.

Arteaga, for her part, says it doesn’t really matter where the rematch happens. But venturing into this particular enemy territory doesn’t seem like a bad idea, either.

“Wherever the rematch is, I’ll make sure to be ready, I know that she’s going to be ready, and it will definitely be a good fight, for sure,” Arteaga said. “(But) I would be happy. I’ve never been to Hawaii. I would love to go out there and perform.”

For complete coverage of Bellator 220, check out the MMA Events section of the site.