The Professional Fighters League crowns a champion in Chicago on Friday, October 16. Liz Carmouche puts the inaugural PFL Women's Flyweight World Championship on the line against Jena Bishop at Wintrust Arena — the first title defence in the history of this division. Add a marquee return in the co-main event and a packed undercard and you have a card that delivers from start to finish.
Full Fight Card
| Fight | Weight Class | Card Section |
|---|---|---|
| Liz Carmouche vs. Jena Bishop | Women's Flyweight (Title) | Main Card |
| Timur Khizriev vs. Gabriel Braga | Featherweight | Main Card |
| Rafael do Nascimento vs. Sarvarjon Khamidov | Bantamweight | Main Card |
| Oualy Tandia vs. J.P. Saint Louis | Welterweight | Main Card |
| Emiliano Sordi vs. Abraham Bably | Light Heavyweight | Main Card |
| Gamid Khizriev vs. Michael Boylan | Lightweight | Preliminary Card |
| Shannon Clark vs. Lucero Acosta | Women's Flyweight | Preliminary Card |
| Cássio Barão Jr. vs. Kevin Pease | Lightweight | Preliminary Card |
| Eliezer Kubanza vs. Trey Waters | Welterweight | Preliminary Card |
| Cobey Fehr vs. Rosario Romero | Bantamweight | Preliminary Card |
| Paulina Wiśniewska vs. Chelsea Hackett | Women's Flyweight | Preliminary Card |
| Noah Hermosillo vs. Caden Cox | Featherweight | Preliminary Card |
| Benita van Rooij vs. Giuliany Perea | Women's Strawweight | Preliminary Card |
| Levan Khabalaev vs. Morquez Forest | Lightweight | Preliminary Card |
Main Event: Carmouche vs. Bishop 2 — Women's Flyweight Title
When Liz Carmouche stopped Jena Bishop in the third round of the 2025 PFL World Tournament final, she became the first PFL Women's Flyweight World Champion. It was a landmark win for a fighter who has competed at the elite level across the UFC, Bellator, and the PFL for well over a decade. The title felt earned.
Carmouche carries a 26-8 record into this defence and has gone four fights without a loss since claiming the belt, with three of those wins by stoppage. She is a methodical fighter who controls the pace through wrestling and clinch pressure. The TKO over Bishop was the result of building that pressure across three rounds until the finish opened up.
Bishop (11-3) responded the way dangerous fighters respond. She has gone 2-0 since the defeat, both wins coming by first-round submission. Bishop is a BJJ black belt and former IBJJF No Gi World Champion — her grappling is not a secondary attribute, it is her identity as a fighter — and her post-loss form has been authoritative. She enters this rematch not carrying the psychological weight of the defeat but carrying two back-to-back finishing wins and a clear gameplan.
The rematch sets up a genuine tactical puzzle. Carmouche controlled the first fight on her terms, building to the third-round finish via her wrestling and physicality. Bishop's task is to alter that dynamic from the opening exchanges — to reach the mat on her own timeline before Carmouche can dictate the physical terms. If Bishop can impose her grappling game early, she has the submission depth to end the fight. If Carmouche manages the range and executes her combination of striking and wrestling, she adds another finish to her championship record.
PFL has been running promotional material under the tagline "Things Have Gotten Interesting" ahead of the rematch, hinting at personal friction between the two camps. Whatever the tone outside the cage, inside it this is a contest between the two best women's flyweights the PFL has.
Co-Main Event: Khizriev vs. Braga 2 — Featherweight
This rematch carries more context than most co-main events. Timur Khizriev (18-0) won the 2024 PFL Featherweight Championship, which included a split-decision semifinal win over Gabriel Braga. Then came a roughly two-year absence from competition following reports that he had been shot five times in an attack in Dagestan. His return was confirmed with a brief public statement that "things were taken care of" regarding the attackers — a line that did nothing to reduce the intrigue around his comeback.
Braga (17-3) went 3-1 after that close semifinal loss and has spent the intervening period reinforcing his standing as the top featherweight contender in the PFL. His striking volume and lateral movement gave Khizriev the most trouble in the first fight, and the split decision confirmed how competitive it was. He enters the rematch with the better recent form and the benefit of knowing exactly how the first fight played out.
Khizriev's wrestling and body lock control were the foundation of his win. Whether a fighter who endured serious physical trauma and two years away from competition returns at the same level is a question the fight card will answer in real time. That uncertainty — not the stylistic matchup — is what makes this co-main compelling.
Notable Undercard Bouts
Sarvarjon Khamidov vs. Rafael do Nascimento — Bantamweight
Khamidov (17-1) is one of the more physically punishing bantamweights in the PFL field, with a finishing rate that makes him dangerous in any round. Do Nascimento (13-2) has legitimate tools but faces a genuine step-up test.
Gamid Khizriev vs. Michael Boylan — Lightweight (Preliminary Card)
Timur's younger brother Gamid (5-0) fights on the same card his brother headlines — a family storyline the PFL has built into the event's promotional DNA. Boylan (6-1) offers a real test of where Gamid stands as a prospect.
Emiliano Sordi vs. Abraham Bably — Light Heavyweight (Main Card)
A reliable main card fight between two light heavyweights with finishing ability. Sordi has been consistent in PFL competition; this is a chance for Bably to establish himself in the division.
PFL Chicago is built around a historic championship, a comeback story with real weight behind it, and an undercard that fills the gaps. The women's flyweight title is only a year old. What happens Friday night writes another chapter in its short history.
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This article was generated with AI and may contain errors.