Jena Bishop isn’t losing any sleep over Liz Carmouche’s prediction that she’ll fade in the later rounds.
In fact, the submission specialist thinks Carmouche has it completely backward. The two meet in a rematch, this time for the vacant PFL women’s flyweight title, in the main event of PFL Chicago on Friday night. With a championship on the line, Bishop has a chance to prove Carmouche wrong and finally capture the belt she’s been chasing since going pro.
“I’ve been doing stuff non-stop, but I love Chicago,” Bishop told Cageside Press among other media on Wednesday.
“It’s my second time this year fighting. It’s been great.”
Despite coming off back-to-back wins, Bishop isn’t about to pretend she’s got everything figured out. With her grappling already a major weapon, she’s been putting extra work into her striking to make herself an even bigger problem for opponents.
“There’s not a lot that changes in the camps. I’m always trying to improve and be better than I was the last fight. Even coming off two wins there’s always room for improvement,” she said.
“Always trying to be a better striker and hone those skills. My grappling has been something that I don’t have to focus on as much so I just stick to tightening things up in the striking game.”
Carmouche might be expecting Bishop to run out of gas as the fight goes on, but Bishop sees things playing out a whole lot differently. In fact, she couldn’t help but laugh at the idea that the later rounds would somehow work against her.
“Oh I would say it’s the opposite! I think that I get stronger as the fight goes on,” Bishop laughed.
“I’m kind of a slow starter at times. I love that she thinks that.”
For Bishop, beating Liz Carmouche wouldn’t just be another win on her record. It would mean finally getting her hands on the belt she’s been chasing since leaving Jiu-Jitsu to give MMA a shot.
“It’s getting that belt that means the most to me,” she said.
“Just the culmination of everything I’ve been working for. I started MMA, transitioning from Jiu Jitsu, because I thought I could be the champion. That’s just everything that I’ve been working towards.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Jena Bishop above. She faces Liz Carmouche for the vacant women’s flyweight title at PFL Chicago on Friday night.