Signs along the seaside roads near Kate Jackson’s hometown on England’s southwestern tip herald it as a “Coast of Dreams.”

Yet, it is here in Honolulu, 7,215 miles — and 40 degrees Fahrenheit — distant from her native Cornwall this week, that Jackson finds herself pursuing her biggest ones.

It is the quest for the Bellator MMA women’s flyweight title Saturday at Blaisdell Arena that propelled her smack dab into undefeated (10-0) defending champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane’s backyard.

The trip here took Jackson more than a week, including several days of a stopover in Los Angeles to give her an opportunity to attempt to catch up with the time zones. Time also, no doubt, to reflect on the career journey that started as a 15-year-old judoka with modest ambitions.

Initially, the idea was that Jackson would join a friend for skin diving lessons if the friend would first accompany her to judo. Well, judo took a quick, firm grip on Jackson, who really wasn’t all that into the ocean despite growing up along the “surfing capital of the UK,” and she never got around to putting on a mask.

What she did do was develop a growing fascination with the concept of mixed martial arts, eventually adding jiu-jitsu and karate to her resume.

In time, her abilities and growing success led to the startling discovery that, “I could actually make a living out of it,” Jackson said.

It is an 11-3-1 pro career that has taken the 33-year-old Jackson around Europe as well as to Las Vegas and New York. And, now, in the biggest challenge, she is here for a fight she wasn’t sure would even come her way for a while.

“I didn’t really expect that (offer) right away, it took me a few days to get my head around it,” Jackson said. “I thought my last fight was, potentially, a No. 1 contender fight, but there were also a couple of other women in the mix. I thought that, maybe, one more win. Then the offer showed up. And I do like surprises.”

Jackson said, “My coaches were really excited and, once I got my head about it, I was definitely excited for the opportunity.”

And even the challenge of taking on Macfarlane in front of a highly charged, partisan crowd left her excited, she professes. In watching tape of Macfarlane’s last Blaisdell appearance a year ago, a submission against Valerie Letourneau cheered by a crowd of about 6,000, Jackson said she was particularly struck by the enthusiastic home crowd following.

“Even in the (video) footage, you can see the energy the crowd brings to it, which is something really cool. It was a really good win and I have a lot of respect for that,” said Jackson, who lost to Letourneau by a decision in 2017.

Her biggest trepidation, she maintains, “was really the time difference. We kinda got around it by spending the last week in LA. I think, now, I’m entering the ring in good shape, even if I’m not the one the crowd is going to be behind. I think I have enough experience now that I’m not shocked and it is just me and my opponent.”

Jackson said, “Coming out here is absolutely amazing. I’ve been (elsewhere) in America but never been to Hawaii and I’ve been looking forward to it. I mean, obviously, they will support my opponent. I would expect that. But it is not something I find daunting.”

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.