TLDR
- Liz Carmouche shaved her head at the weigh-in to successfully make the 125-pound weight limit for her title fight
- The 42-year-old faces Jena Bishop for the inaugural PFL Women’s Flyweight Championship in Chicago on Friday
- Carmouche acknowledged flyweight is a “crazy cut” for her due to increasing bone density
- This is a rematch after Carmouche defeated Bishop by third-round TKO in their 2025 fight
- The winner will likely face undefeated Dakota Ditcheva, who is recovering from surgery
Sources: yardbarker.com | bbc.com | si.com
Liz Carmouche shaved her head at the weigh-in Friday to successfully make weight for her world title fight against Jena Bishop in Chicago. The 42-year-old MMA veteran needed the last-minute haircut to reach the 125-pound limit for the PFL Women’s Flyweight Championship.
Bishop weighed in just under the limit without issue. Carmouche’s team used electric clippers to shave her head before she stepped on the scales at the Wintrust Arena.
Despite the rushed situation, Carmouche smiled and rubbed her newly shaved head, which included some bare spots. She successfully made weight and will face Bishop in the main event Friday night.
Liz Carmouche starts her night in DOMINANT fashion 🔥#PFLChicago | Main Card LIVE NOW on ESPN 2 pic.twitter.com/pMBX6kmbix
— PFL (@PFLMMA) October 17, 2026
Difficult Weight Cut Acknowledged
Carmouche admitted earlier in the week that flyweight is a “crazy cut” for her. She told Ariel Helwani on Uncrowned that her bone density keeps increasing, which makes her weight increase as well.
“I can keep reducing calories but that’s not going to change the build of my body,” Carmouche said. “So 135lb makes the most sense, but the performance I have at 125lb makes it really hard to want to go up a weight class.”
The fight marks a rematch between Carmouche and Bishop. Carmouche defeated Bishop with a third-round TKO stoppage in their first meeting in 2025.
Carmouche enters the fight on a four-fight winning streak. Her most recent victory came against Viviane Araujo at PFL San Diego in June, where she won by second-round guillotine choke.
The American fighter holds a 26-8 professional MMA record. She has six wins and one defeat since joining PFL in 2024.
Bishop brings an 11-3 record into the fight. The 40-year-old has posted three losses in eight fights with the PFL.
History and Future Plans
Carmouche’s career began in 2010 and has taken her through multiple major promotions. She challenged Ronda Rousey for the UFC bantamweight title 13 years ago and later won the Bellator flyweight championship.
“This is a really important moment,” Carmouche said. “All the hard work and dedication I’ve put in. All the sacrifices I’ve put into my career. I put my head down, and I work hard, and I think every organization sees that.”
Carmouche trained with Team Atlas on the East Coast for this fight. She said the location made sense because the fight is in the Midwest, and it was arranged on short notice.
The winner will likely face Dakota Ditcheva next year. Ditcheva holds a 16-0 record but is currently recovering from surgery.
Carmouche said a fight with Ditcheva is the only matchup that makes sense for her first title defense. She suggested March would give Ditcheva enough time to heal from surgery.
“I never want to look past the opponent,” Carmouche said. “It’s MMA. Even if MMA math adds up and it shows you should come out the victor, things happen.”
The main card begins at 11 p.m. ET Friday night. ESPN2 will broadcast the main card, while the prelims stream on ESPN+.
