Dakota Ditcheva confronts newly crowned PFL champion

Jena Bishop exacted her revenge to become the new PFL women's flyweight champion.

PFL Chicago took center stage on Friday night at Wintrust Arena, where Bishop faced Liz Carmouche for the vacant flyweight title. Carmouche knocked out Bishop last year and entered the rematch as a heavy favorite, but that did not deter her opponent. Bishop ground out a hard-fought victory over the 42-year-old veteran to capture her first major title.

Carmouche came out firing in the opening round, rocking Bishop and hunting for a finish. Bishop weathered the storm, and by the second round, the grueling weight cut appeared to take its toll on Carmouche as her gas tank visibly depleted. Bishop looked set to dominate in the third frame after taking Carmouche's back and threatening with submission attempts. However, Bishop also showed signs of fatigue in the fourth, allowing Carmouche back into the contest by stuffing a takedown, securing top position, and dealing damage.

With everything hanging in the balance in the fifth round, Carmouche appeared fresher and pressed the action against a tiring Bishop. However, Carmouche got surprisingly reckless, allowing Bishop to time a clean takedown and transition directly to back control. Bishop spent the majority of the frame hunting for a rear-naked choke, briefly locking in the hold before Carmouche defended. Carmouche fought desperately to escape, but was unable to shake Bishop off her back.

In the end, the judges awarded Bishop a unanimous decision victory to crown her the new PFL women's flyweight champion.

After the bout, Dakota Ditcheva stepped inside the cage for an intense face-off with Bishop. Ditcheva defeated Bishop via TKO in 2024, setting the stage for a blockbuster flyweight title rematch next year.