Jena Bishop Avenges Loss to Liz Carmouche, Wins PFL Flyweight Title
Jena Bishop won the vacant PFL women's flyweight title by unanimous decision over Liz Carmouche at PFL Chicago.
Jena Bishop got her revenge. The 12-3 fighter edged Liz Carmouche by unanimous decision to win the vacant PFL women's flyweight championship in the main event of PFL Chicago 2 at Wintrust Arena on Friday night.
All three judges scored it 48-47 for Bishop in a fight that could have gone either way. Carmouche, nicknamed "Girl-Rilla," rocked Bishop with punches in the opening round and poured on ground-and-pound that had many observers scoring it a 10-8. Sherdog's three unofficial scorers all gave Carmouche a 10-8 first round, but none of the official judges agreed.
Bishop recovered and adjusted. She used her grappling to neutralize Carmouche over the middle rounds, forcing the veteran to defend takedowns and submission attempts instead of landing the power shots that dominated round one. Carmouche kept finding success on the feet, but Bishop's wrestling volume was enough to win the close rounds on the cards.
The fifth round told the story of Bishop's toughness. She scored a takedown midway through the frame and locked in a rear-naked choke attempt, but the 26-9 Carmouche survived to the final bell. It was not enough to turn the scorecards.
The win avenges Bishop's third-round stoppage loss to Carmouche at the 2025 PFL World Tournament Finals last August. Bishop had called that stoppage premature and vowed to make it right. She did.
Close fights like this come down to who adapts. Bishop got cracked in round one and it looked like the Carmouche fight was going to end the same way as last time. But she made adjustments, leaned on her grappling, and ground out the kind of ugly, competitive win that title fights are made of.
I will say this: that first round scoring is going to be debated. Every unofficial scorer had it 10-8 for Carmouche, and the official judges all gave it 10-9. If even one of them goes 10-8, we have a draw. Bishop got fortunate there, but she also earned the later rounds with her wrestling and pressure. That is what separates a champion from a contender. You eat the early storm, you adjust, you take the belt home.
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