CHICAGO — Jena Bishop flipped the script on Liz Carmouche on Friday night at Wintrust Arena, taking a unanimous decision in their rematch to win the vacant PFL women’s flyweight championship.
Every scorecard had the five-round main event 48-47 for Bishop, now 12-3, who claimed the first title of her career. Carmouche, who knocked Bishop out when they met last year, entered as the betting favorite and falls to 26-9.
The opening round belonged to Carmouche, who rocked Bishop with a flurry of punches and nearly finished her before the horn. Bishop steadied herself with grappling in the second, then took control in the third, dragging the fight to the mat, taking the back and cranking on a rear-naked choke that Carmouche survived.
Carmouche, 42, rallied in the fourth as both fighters tired. With the bout likely even on the cards entering the last five minutes, she pressed forward on the feet, and Bishop timed a takedown, took her back with a body lock and spent most of the round hunting another choke.
Bishop, 40, may not hold the belt long without a stiff test. Unbeaten Dakota Ditcheva, 16-0 and 11-0 in the PFL, stepped into the cage afterward for a face-off and said she has been medically cleared to fight for the title in early 2027. Ditcheva knocked out Bishop in the first round when they met in August 2024.
On the rest of the main card, Timur Khizriev took a split decision over Gabriel Braga, Sarvarjon Khamidov knocked out Rafael do Nascimento in 1:49 and Oualy Tandia outpointed J.P. Saint Louis.
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