Jena Bishop Upsets Liz Carmouche to Win PFL Flyweight Title

Jena Bishop has turned a painful defeat into championship gold.

Bishop defeated Liz Carmouche by unanimous decision in the PFL Chicago main event Friday night at Wintrust Arena, winning the vacant PFL women’s flyweight championship. All three judges scored the five-round rematch 48-47 for Bishop.

The result was both an upset and a reversal. Carmouche had stopped Bishop in the third round of their 2025 meeting, a finish Bishop maintained came too early. This time, Bishop survived Carmouche’s most dangerous stretch, imposed her grappling over the middle rounds and closed the fight in the position she needed most.

Carmouche Nearly Took Control in Round 1

Carmouche opened like the more seasoned championship fighter. She hurt Bishop with punches, followed her to the canvas and poured on ground-and-pound. Bishop’s ability to stay composed under that pressure became the first turning point of the fight.

The opening round was dominant enough that Sherdog’s three unofficial scorers each viewed it as a 10-8 for Carmouche. The official judges did not award a 10-8, a detail that became decisive when the final totals were read.

Bishop did more than survive. She forced Carmouche to spend energy trying to secure the finish, then began shifting the fight toward longer grappling exchanges where position and control mattered more than explosive damage.

Bishop’s Grappling Changed the Fight

By the third round, Bishop had found the matchup she wanted. She dragged Carmouche to the mat, moved to the back and threatened with a rear-naked choke. Carmouche defended, but the sequence established that Bishop could create extended control against one of the division’s most experienced fighters.

Carmouche rallied in the fourth, sprawling into top position and landing offense as Bishop slowed. That left the championship round with little margin for error.

Bishop answered with the defining sequence of the fight. She timed a takedown, took Carmouche’s back and spent much of the fifth round attacking the neck. Carmouche escaped the tightest choke attempt and reached the final horn, but she could not reverse position or shake Bishop loose.

Why the 48-47 Scorecards Make Sense

The identical 48-47 cards reflect a close fight with a clear structural divide: Carmouche produced the biggest early damage, while Bishop accumulated more sustained control over the remaining rounds.

If the first had been scored 10-8, the bout could have ended in a draw on one or more cards. Instead, the judges treated it as a standard 10-9 round and rewarded Bishop’s work across enough of the final four rounds to give her the decision.

That makes the fifth-round takedown especially important. Bishop did not merely protect a lead; she created the strongest visual and tactical statement of the closing round by putting Carmouche on defense for an extended stretch.

A Championship Built on Adjustment

Bishop’s win was not a case of erasing every advantage Carmouche had. Carmouche remained the more dangerous striker in key moments and showed that she could still swing the fight from bad positions. Bishop won by changing the terms of engagement after the opening round and repeatedly returning to the phase where she held the edge.

That adjustment is what separates this result from a routine upset. Bishop entered the rematch with the previous stoppage hanging over the matchup, absorbed another rough start and still trusted the grappling game that had brought her back to a title opportunity.

The championship is the first major MMA title of Bishop’s career and moves her record to 12-3. Carmouche falls to 26-9 after seeing a four-fight winning streak end.

Dakota Ditcheva Appears to Be Next

After the decision, Dakota Ditcheva entered the cage for a faceoff with the new champion. Ditcheva stopped Bishop by TKO in 2024, giving the PFL an immediate revenge storyline for its new women’s flyweight titleholder.

No date was announced in the reports reviewed for this story, but the in-cage faceoff clearly positioned Bishop and Ditcheva as the division’s next major championship matchup.

For Bishop, that would mean another chance to revisit a loss. The difference now is that she would enter the rematch carrying the belt—and proof that she can recover from adversity across five rounds.

Sources

• MMA Fighting: Jena Bishop stuns Liz Carmouche to win PFL flyweight championship
• Sherdog: Jena Bishop survives Liz Carmouche, wins PFL title in revenge fight
• MMA Junkie: PFL Chicago results — Bishop vs. Carmouche 2