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Liz Carmouche Shaves Head to Make Weight for PFL Flyweight Title Fight
Confirmed
In Short: Liz Carmouche shaved her head to make the 125-pound weight limit for her PFL flyweight title fight against Jena Bishop in Chicago.
Liz Carmouche shaved her head to successfully make the 125-pound weight limit for her PFL flyweight title fight against Jena Bishop in Chicago on Friday.
Carmouche, 42, needed the drastic measure to meet the weight requirement, as her bone density continues to increase, making it difficult for her to reduce weight through diet alone.
Bishop, 40, weighed in at 124.6 pounds, just under the limit, while Carmouche came very close to being over the limit before her haircut.
Carmouche, a former Bellator champion, has won four straight fights, including a knockout of Bishop in their 2025 PFL women's flyweight tournament final.
The PFL Chicago event, headlined by the women’s flyweight title fight, takes place at the Wintrust Arena and will air on ESPN2 and stream on the ESPN app.
Carmouche, who made her MMA debut in 2010, is aiming for her 27th professional victory if she wins the title.
Bishop has had mixed results in the PFL, with three losses in eight fights.
Carmouche expressed her preference for the 125-pound weight class despite the difficulty, stating, '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.'
Carmouche also mentioned that if she wins the title, her first defense would be against Ketlen Ditcheva, who is recovering from surgery.
Carmouche said, 'I think a welcome back fight makes no sense at all,' indicating Ditcheva as the logical choice for her first title defense.
The full card for the PFL Chicago event includes several other bouts, with all fighters successfully making weight.
The event will feature Joshua Van and Alexa Grasso making significant moves in the latest MMA Fighting Pound-For-Pound Rankings.
What this adds
This report adds details about the full card and fighters' rankings, as well as Carmouche's preference for the 125-pound weight class despite the challenges.
Background
Liz Carmouche shaved her head to make the 125-pound weight limit for her PFL flyweight title fight against Jena Bishop in Chicago.
What's confirmed
- Jena Bishop (124.6) – For vacant PFL women’s flyweight title Gabriel Braga (145.8) vs.
- The PFL Chicago main event is a go Liz Carmouche wasn’t taking any chances on the scale ahead of Friday’s Professional Fighters League event in Chicago.
- Oualy Tandia (170) This is the title for the native ad Ketlen Vieira lost her PFL Tampa debut to champ Cris Cyborg Arman Tsarukyan is neck-and-neck with UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje in the latest MMA Fighting Global Rankings.
- The rest of the card successfully made weight, which you can check out the full results below.
- On Thursday, the former Bellator champion hit the scales — but not before she shaved her head to do so.
- Joshua Van and Alexa Grasso made major moves in the latest MMA Fighting Pound-For-Pound Rankings.
- Watch Carmouche get a haircut before stepping on the scale below.
- In their first meeting in August 2025, Carmouche destroyed Bishop with a brutal knockout at PFL Charlotte to win the flyweight tournament.
- In the end, she made championship weight at 125 pounds.
What's still developing
- "My bone density keeps increasing, therefore my weight keeps increasing and I can keep reducing calories but that's not going to change the build of my body," she told Ariel Helwani on Uncrowned.
- "[March] gives her enough time to heal from her surgery," Carmouche said.
- Speaking earlier in the week, Carmouche admitted flyweight was a "crazy cut" for her.
- At the PFL Chicago official weigh-ins on Thursday, Liz Carmouche, who came into fight week with short hair, did what she felt was necessary to make championship weight by shaving her head to make 125 pounds even for her vacant flyweight title fight against Jena Bishop, who registered 124.6 with relative ease.
- This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: PFL Chicago weigh-in results: Liz Carmouche shaves head to make championship weight Reporting by Simon Samano, MMA Junkie / MMA Junkie Sorry, there are no recent results for popular articles.
- Carmouche will enter on a four-fight winning streak, which includes the knockout of Bishop.
- Timur Khizriev (145.4) – Featherweight Bout Rafael do Nascimento (135.4) vs.
- Sarvarjon Khamidov (135.8) – Bantamweight Bout Oualy Tandia (170) vs.
- JP Saint Louis (172.8)* – Welterweight Bout Eliezer Kubanza (170.2) vs.
- Emiliano Sordi (205.2) – Light Heavyweight Bout Cassio Barao (154.2) vs.
- The 42-year-old has won four straight, finishing three of her opponents, including former UFC ranked contender Viviane Araujo in her most recent bout in June.
- Rafael Do Nasicmento (135.4) JP Saint Louis (172.8) vs.