Carmouche rematches Bishop for vacant PFL flyweight title after Ditcheva fractures both hands

Liz Carmouche will face Jena Bishop for the vacant PFL women’s flyweight title at Wintrust Arena in Chicago on October 16, the PFL announced Wednesday — a rematch forced by circumstance after Dakota Ditcheva fractured both hands in her decision win over Denise Kielholtz at PFL New York.

Ditcheva had been the expected title challenger following that victory, but the double hand injury ruled her out of contention for the foreseeable future. PFL CEO John Martin confirmed the organisation had been tracking a Ditcheva–Carmouche matchup before the injury intervened. “Originally, we had been planning for, expecting that if Dakota won in New York, which she did, she would be the legitimate title fight, probably against Liz, although we hadn’t decided that,” Martin told Ariel Helwani. “But, of course, Dakota won, but unfortunately she fractured both of her hands. … I don’t want the title to wait.”

The result is a rematch of the 2025 PFL women’s flyweight tournament final, which Carmouche won by third-round knockout. Both fighters have kept busy since that meeting. Carmouche submitted Viviane Araujo with a guillotine choke in June, while Bishop has strung together two submission wins of her own — defeating Borena Tsertsvadze in April and Ariane Lipski da Silva in June — to build a case for another shot at the belt.

The October 16 card in Chicago will mark the second time the two flyweights have shared the cage in under a year, with Bishop now carrying considerably more momentum into the rematch than she did in their first encounter.