PFL Chicago 2 Live Updates, Highlights and Results

As most onlookers probably expected, Jena Bishop has claimed the vacant PFL women's flyweight title with a unanimous decision win over the veteran Liz Carmouche.

All three judges scored the PFL Chicago main event 28-27 in her favor.

It was an incredible performance from Bishop, who completed four takedowns, threatened with multiple submission attempts—primarily with rear-naked chokes—and weathered everything that came back her way over five rounds. She's now 12-3 overall, and with a PFL belt wrapped around her waist, can now look forward to an extremely tough fight with unbeaten knockout artist Dakota Ditcheva (16-0).

The two flyweight stars faced off in the cage following the main event. If they indeed fight again, it will be their second meeting. Ditcheva won their first encounter by first-round stoppage, however, Bishop has clearly improved leaps and bounds since then.

Carmouche, who is now 42, will have some thinking to do following this loss tough loss in Chicago. The one-time UFC title challenger is now 26-9 overall.

Jena Bishop and Liz Carmouche went all five rounds in their quest to claim the PFL flyweight title. It was a very close fight, and both women had their moments, though it seems like the underdog Bishop had slightly more.

Let's see what the judges thought...

It's time to crown the new PFL women's flyweight champion.

The belt will be up for grabs in tonight's main event, which is up next. The two women vying for the vacant throne will be Liz Carmouche (26-8) and Jena Bishop (11-3). It will be the second time they have met in the PFL cage, after Carmouche beat Bishop by stoppage in August of last year. 

Carmouche, who famously battled Ronda Rousey in the first ever women's fight in the UFC back in 2013, is on one heck of a streak at 42 years old, with wins in her last four fights. That includes a recent submission win over fellow UFC veteran Viviane Araujo.

Bishop has won two straight since losing to Carmouche. Her latest win was a first-round armbar against UFC veteran Ariane Lipski da Silva. 

This is a big fight, especially with PFL superstar Dakota Ditcheva—arguably the biggest star on the roster—waiting to fight the winner for the belt early next year.

Let's get to it. 

Timur Khizriev is still undefeated at 19-0, but his latest win will surely be the subject of significant debate. While he certainly had his moments against Gabriel Braga in Saturday's co-main event, the split-decision he walked away with was pretty dubious, given that he was badly hurt in rounds one and two, and failed to complete any of the takedowns he attempted over three rounds.

Nonetheless, this marks a successful return after two years out of action for Khizriev. He remains one of the PFL's top featherweights.

Braga, meanwhile, is now 17-4 overall, and a tough 1-2 in his last three PFL appearances. He will surely have a tough time stomaching this latest loss.

Onto the main event...

We've reached the co-main event of the evening: a featherweight rematch between Russia's Timur Khizriev (18-0) and Brazil's Gabriel Braga (17-3). 

The pair first met in 2024, with the Russian fighter winning a split decision. 

Khizriev, the older brother of undercard winner Gamid Khizriev, is a former PFL tournament champ, and arguably one of the promotion's best fighters. However, this will be his first fight since he won PFL gold with a decision defeat of Brendan Loughnane in 2024. 

That's a long layoff, and he might have some trouble finding his rhythm when the cage door closes. His opponent is no slouch, either, which could make things even more difficult for him.

Braga, who has spent years mixing it up with the PFL's best featherweights and has beaten several UFC veterans, is fresh off a decision win over Cheyden Leialoha. He will be determined to spring the upset. 

Here we go. 

Sarvarjon Khamidov's power and speed were on full display in Chicago. The Tajik bantamweight prospect needed only a few minutes to take care of Rafael do Nascimento in their main card showdown.

The finishing sequence began with a left hook that floored the Brazilian, and ended with a volley of ground and pound that forced the referee to interject.

In victory, Khamidov is now a fantastic 18-1 overall. He is now two impressive wins removed from the lone loss of his career.

Do Nascimento is now 13-3 overall. This loss in Chicago marks the end of a six-fight unbeaten streak for him.

The second fight of the main card will go down in the bantamweight division, where Tajikistan's Sarvarjon Khamidov (17-1) will take on Brazil's Rafael do Nascimento. 

Khamidov recently got his first taste of defeat at the hands of Magomed Magomedov, but has since rebounded with a submission win over Justin Wetzell. 

Nascimento, a longtime LFA veteran, will be looking to make it 2-0 in the PFL cage after a submission win over Lewis McGrillen last time out. 

J.P. Saint Louis and Oualy Tandia's main card catchweight fight wasn't exactly a thriller. The pair spent most of three rounds jockeying for position on the ground and in the clinch, and kept actual offense to a pretty minimal level. In the end, however, France's Tandia did enough to convince all three cage-side judges he deserved the win.

The win brings Tandia 6-0 overall, and marks a successful PFL debut. However, this probably isn't quite the way the former Hexagone champ wanted to announce his arrival to the promotion.

Saint Louis is now 12-6, and back in the loss column after five consecutive wins,

The prelims are over, and the main card is set to kick off in 20-ish minutes.

The first fight of the main card was set to be contested at welterweight, but will instead go down at a catchweight of 173 pounds. That's thanks to JP Saint Louis, who lived up to his "Too Much" monicker by coming in overweight for his undercard scrap with unbeaten Frenchman with Oualy Tandia.

Saint Louis (12-5) has won five straight fights, including a decision win over Tyler Ray in his PFL debut over a year ago.

Tandia (5-0), who has looked very good on the European regional scene, is a former Hexagone champion who will be making his debut with the PFL. 

Eliezer Kubanza is a scary, scary man.

The Congolese welterweight scored an absolutely dazzling knockout victory over Trey Waters in their undercard battle, drifting in and out of range to level his opponent with a left hook.

It was arguably the best finish of the night so far, which is saying something.

The win brings Kubanza to 9-1 overall, and more than justifies his "King Kong" nickname. The dude is an absolute powerhouse, and very slick to boot.

He concluded his win by calling for a title fight with welterweight champ Thad Jean. He may not get that opportunity next, but it could be a matter of time.

Waters is now 10-3, and 1-1 in his last 2.

The next fight on the undercard will be contested at welterweight, with Eliezer Kubanza (9-1) and Trey Waters (10-2).

Kubanza, from The Democratic Republic of the Congo, has gone 2-0 in the PFL since suffering his lone pro loss on Contender Series.

Waters is riding a nasty stoppage win over Trukon Carson in his last appearance.

This one should be good.

Emiliano Sordi got off to a bit of a rough start in the first round of his light heavyweight clash with Abraham Bably. However, the 2019 PFL light heavyweight champ abruptly turned the tables in round two, rattling his opponent with a sizzling 1-2 and follow-up left hook. Bably briefly hung in there after being hurt, but an uppercut, knee, and flurry of winging punches ultimately spelled the end for him.

That brings Sordi to 27-14-1 overall, and gets him back on track after a stoppage loss to Simeon Powell.

Bably, now 8-4 overall, has lost two fights in a row, both times against former PFL champs, and both times by stoppage.

Next up is the lone light heavyweight fight of the night.

In one corner, we'll have Argentina's Emiliano Sordi (26-14-1), a previous PFL tournament champ. In the other, you'll find England's Abraham Bably (8-3).

Sordi will be looking to rebound from a stoppage loss to Simeon Powell, which was preceded by three-straight MMA wins in various promotions, and a quick knockout win in the Karate Combat pit. 

Bably, a former PFL Africa champ, will be looking to rebound from a loss to another former PFL tournament champ in Rob Wilkinson.  

Kevin Pease was absolutely dominant in his undercard lightweight battle with Cassio Barao. After winding up on his back, he was able to scramble into position to lock up a rear-naked choke.

That brings Pease to 9-0 as a pro, and his first in the PFL. It's clear why the organization signed him.

If he gets his way, he'll fight Portugal's Pedro Carvalho next.

Barao, who was sporting a huge bump on his forehead after the loss, is now 10-2-1 overall.

PFL broadcasts are unfortunately notorious for their slow pace, and for long breaks between fights.

Unfortunately, tonight's broadcast is living up to that reputation. It's been quite a while since the last fight ended, and there is no indication the next will begin anytime soon.

In fact, after an extremely long cage-side interview with Dakota Ditcheva, there is now a service dog being paraded around the cage for some kind of promotional event. He's very cute, and surely a very good boy, but hopefully we can get to some actual fights too.

You know, the thing we all came for.

We've got more lightweight action up next, with Cassio Barao (10-1-1) of Brazil taking on undefeated American Kevin Pease. 

Barao, making his PFL debut, has won his last two. 

Pease will also be making his PFL debut. He's fresh off a pair of championship victory in Cage Fury FC. 

Mexico's Lucero Acosta got off to a good start in her flyweight fight with Shannon Clark, but ultimately wilted as the Canadian began to take control of the fight. By the third round, it was clear that her will to fight was mostly gone, and the TKO win for Clark came soon after.

Both women left the cage bloodied and bruised.

The win takes Clark to 9-1 as a pro, with wins in her last four fights.

Acosta's four-fight win streak falls apart in defeat. She's now 6-3 overall, and will have to wait for her first PFL win.

It's time for another fight in the PFL's ever improving women's flyweight division. This one will pit Canada's Shannon Clark (8-1) against Mexico's Lucero Acosta (6-2).

Clark will enter the fight with wins in her last three fights, including a pair of LFA championship victories, and a stoppage win over Ilara Joanne in her recent PFL debut. 

Acosta, who is making her PFL debut, has won four-straight, all in the Combate Global cage. 

This PFL card is definitely delivering so far, with a bunch of impressive finishes in a row.

The latest came from Russia's Gamid Khizriev, who stopped Michael Boylan late in the first round of their lightweight showdown.

Khizriev quickly got Boylan to the mat, and controlled him for several minutes. After threatening with a rear-naked choke, he then climbed into top position and rained down punches and elbows until the referee was forced to intervene.

As commentator Dan Hardy put it, somewhat grossly, he was all over him like a rash.

Khizriev is now 6-0 overall, with five finishes. Like many of the other fighters we've seen so far tonight, his future in the PFL—or shall we say in MVP MMA—looks very bright.

Boylan is now 6-2 overall, and winless in the PFL after a red-hot start to his pro career.

It's now time for another lightweight scrap.

This one will see Russia's Gamid Khizriev (5-0) take on 6-1 American Michael Boylan. Khizriev is riding a submission win over Biaggio Ali Walsh—Muhammad Ali's grandson. Boylan will be looking to rebound from his first pro loss. 

Let's see how it goes.

Make that two lightning-quick finishes in a row!

Moments after a quick TKO courtesy of Levan Khabalaev, Cobey Fehr scored a similarly speedy submission win over Rosario Romero. He put him to sleep with a rear-naked choke in just 58 seconds.

It was an absolute beatdown.

With that outcome, Fehr is now 5-0 overall, and 2-0 in the PFL. His grappling looks absolutely elite, and his future is clearly bright.

Romero is now 4-1 and 0-1 in the PFL.

Our next fight will be contested at bantamweight, with Rosario Romero taking on Cobey Fehr. Both guys are 4-0 as professionals. Romero will be making his PFL debut, while Fehr is 1-0 in the promotion following a June submission win over Daniel Bzdigian, who was notably making his pro debut. 

Both guys are obviously still very green. Let's see what we can glean about their futures here. 

Levan Khabalaev, who trains under legendary MMA coach Ray Longo, made very quick work of Brock Hamer in their undercard lightweight clash.

Hamer's aggression was his undoing. After charging into a takedown into the opening seconds, he was badly rattled by a counter punch. A few moments later, he was hurt even more badly by another. A volley of ground and pound sealed the deal.

It took just over a minute from beginning to end.

In victory, Khabalaev is 7-0 overall, with 6 finishes. The future is bright for this young man.

Hamer is now 5-2 overall.

It's now time for the first of several lightweight clashes of the night.

This one will pit Levan Khabalaev (5-0) against Brock Hamer (5-1).

Khabalaev, a huge betting favorite, is fresh off a first-round stoppage win over Chamy Delva in his July PFL debut. Hamer will be making his first walk to the PFL cage.

It should be underway shortly.

Poland's Paulina Wiśniewska had to work hard to get by Australia's Chelsea Hackett in their undercard flyweight scrap, weathering a nasty second-round body shot, but ultimately walked away with unanimous decision win.

In victory, the Polish prospect improves to 8-1 overall, and after back-to-back victories, is clearly zeroing in on PFL title contention.

Hackett, who B/R has been monitoring for over six years, is back now 5-4-1, but as her performance tonight showed, is better than her record indicates.

Next up, we've got a women's flyweight clash pitting Australia's Chelsea Hackett (5-3-1) against Poland's Paulina Wiśniewska (7-1).

Hackett, the underdog, is a Contender Series veteran, and is riding a decision win over Andrea Vázquez.

Wiśniewska, meanwhile, is fresh off a stoppage of Kana Watanabe, which separated her from a split-decision loss to Sabrinna de Sousa—the lone setback of her pro career.

It's a solid appetizer for tonight's flyweight main event. Let's get to it.

Noah Hermosillo kicked off PFL Chicago in style, stopping Caden Cox in with a third-round body kick in their featherweight fight.

He's now 2-0 as a pro, and 2-0 in the PFL.

In defeat, Cox falls to 2-1 as a pro.

PFL Chicago is officially underway.

First up, we've got a clash of featherweight prospects, as Caden Cox (2-0) takes on Noah Hermosillo (1-0).

It should be underway in minutes!

Tonight's PFL Chicago card is set to kick off in about 15 minutes.

Here's what's in store for the evening ahead!