Jena Bishop captured the inaugural PFL women’s flyweight world championship on October 16, 2026, defeating Liz Carmouche by unanimous decision at Wintrust Arena in Chicago after a grueling five-round rematch that tested both fighters’ grappling and resilience.
The championship bout went the full five rounds, with all three judges scoring the contest 48-47 for Bishop. The unanimous decision secured the vacant belt and reversed the outcome of their previous encounter, lifting Bishop’s professional record to 12-3 as reported by Middleeasy.
Weight Cut Drama And Championship Stakes In Chicago
Hours before stepping into the cage, the main event carried considerable tension during the weigh-ins at Wintrust Arena. Carmouche, a 42-year-old MMA veteran and former Bellator champion, tipped the scales at exactly 125 pounds, but only after her team used electric clippers to shave her head on the spot to successfully make weight. As noted by BBC Sport, Carmouche admitted earlier in the week that flyweight is a “crazy cutfor her, explaining to Ariel Helwani on Uncrowned:
My bone density keeps increasing, therefore my weight keeps increasing and I can keep reducing calories but that’s not going to change the build of my body.”
One of the most dangerous submission specialist in the PFL gets her shot at gold on Friday, October 16th 😤🏆Jena Bishop | Through The Years 🗓️Jena Bishop returns on Friday, October 16th against Liz Carmouche as the PFL Women’s Flyweight World Title will be on the line at PFL… pic.twitter.com/Sb5rZK2ZLP
Bishop weighed in just under the limit at 124.6 pounds, as Middleeasy reported (with BBC Sport noting she came in just under the 125lb limit). Entering the cage, Carmouche held a 26-8 record while Bishop stood at 11-3, according to Yahoo Sports. The stakes contrasted sharply with their August 2025 meeting, which served as a tournament final where Carmouche finished Bishop with strikes at 2:56 of the third round, as Middleeasy detailed. This time, the vacant flyweight world title hung in the balance.
Five Rounds Of Grappling Exchanges And Near Finishes
The rematch immediately discarded any feeling-out process, plunging straight into a tactical and physical battle.
Bishop answered by asserting her grappling pedigree. In the second round, she secured a takedown in the center of the cage and worked her ground and pound, though the referee briefly stopped the action for strikes to the back of the head, causing Bishop to lose dominant position as MMA Junkie described. The grappling intensity escalated in the third round when Bishop took Carmouche’s back, secured a body triangle, and hunted for a rear-naked choke while working her forearm across the face and chin, as Middleeasy recorded. Carmouche defended by hand-fighting and staying calm to relieve the pressure.
The championship rounds maintained a fierce pace. After trading top positions in the fourth—during which Carmouche was bleeding from her nose, per MMA Junkie—the fifth round featured a decisive sequence where Bishop landed a right hand, transitioned to a takedown, and climbed onto Carmouche’s back in “backpack mode” to relentlessly pursue a rear-naked choke as the clock ran out, according to MMA Junkie and Middleeasy.
Jena Bishop noted that she thought the fourth round was the final one, and once she realized another remained, her priority was to get the contest to the ground, where she believed she could secure the win.
Co-Main Event And Undercard Highlights At Wintrust Arena
The 13-bout card broadcast live on ESPN2 from Wintrust Arena and featured significant movement across multiple divisions, as outlined by Yahoo Sports. In the featherweight co-main event, undefeated Timur Khizriev (18-0) took on Gabriel Braga (17-3), per Yahoo Sports. Khizriev preserved his undefeated professional record by defeating Braga via split decision, as noted in MMA Junkie’s coverage. Khizriev returned to competition following a lengthy recovery from injuries sustained in an armed attack.
Earlier on the card, Noah Hermosillo delivered a notable performance in his featherweight preliminary bout against Cade Cox (listed as Caden Cox in other reports), with Yahoo Sports documenting the preliminary lineup. Hermosillo stopped Cox in the third round, later revealing in his broadcast interview that he had broken his hand in the opening round, according to MMA Junkie.
The event also featured other preliminary and main card battles, including Sarvarjon Khamidov versus Rafael do Nascimento and Oualy Tandia versus J.P. Saint Louis on the main card, alongside preliminary matchups such as Eliezer Kubanza versus Trey Waters and Emiliano Sordi versus Abraham Bably, according to the full fight card published by Yahoo Sports.