Liz Carmouche vs. Cris Cyborg? PFL Chicago Could Set Up a Legend vs. Legend Superfight

The Professional Fighters League returns to Chicago on October 16 with a card headlined by a rematch that could have much bigger implications for the future of women’s MMA.

Liz “Girl-Rilla” Carmouche will face Jena Bishop for the inaugural PFL Women’s Flyweight World Championship at Wintrust Arena. Carmouche enters the fight with a 26-8 record and a four-fight winning streak, including three finishes. She previously defeated Bishop by third-round stoppage in the 2025 PFL World Tournament final. Bishop has responded with two consecutive first-round submission victories.

The winner will become the first PFL women’s flyweight champion, but for Carmouche, there could be another opportunity waiting beyond Chicago especially if fan favorite Dakota Ditcheva is still injured an unable to return anytime soon. 

Carmouche Has Already Called for Cyborg

Following her victory at PFL San Diego, Carmouche made it clear that she was interested in something bigger than simply working her way through another contender.

Carmouche called for a “Legend vs. Legend” superfight with Cris Cyborg.

The idea makes considerably more sense now than it did a few months ago.

Cyborg is coming off her historic victory over Ketlen Vieira at PFL Tampa, a win that moved her professional MMA record to 30-2 and made her the first woman in modern MMA history to reach 30 professional victories. The victory also gave Cyborg another world championship victory and concluded her PFL contract, leaving the sport’s biggest female free agent on the market.

Cyborg has not closed the door on another major MMA fight. Instead, the opportunity would have to be significant enough to make sense for a fighter who has already accomplished virtually everything possible in the sport.

That is where Carmouche becomes interesting.

A Superfight Created by the MVP-PFL Era

The merger between the Professional Fighters League and Most Valuable Promotions has created a much larger platform for major crossover fights.

If MVP is unable to convince Ronda Rousey to return for the long-discussed matchup with Cyborg, Carmouche could represent an entirely different kind of blockbuster.

Carmouche and Cyborg are both pioneers who have competed at the highest level of women’s MMA for more than a decade. Carmouche was part of the first women’s fight in UFC history and went on to become a Bellator champion and PFL tournament champion. Cyborg has won major MMA championships in Strikeforce, Invicta FC, UFC, Bellator and PFL.

Carmouche is also already familiar with the biggest names associated with the Cyborg story. She was the opponent for Rousey in the first women’s fight in UFC history.

A Cyborg-Carmouche matchup would therefore carry a compelling “generations of women’s MMA” narrative while giving the new MVP-led platform a fight that could feel more like a premium Netflix sporting event than a conventional divisional matchup.

But First, Carmouche Has to Win in Chicago

There is no reason for the PFL to rush into that conversation before October 16.

Carmouche has a championship opportunity in front of her against Bishop, who has dramatically improved since their first meeting. The rematch is the centerpiece of PFL Chicago, while undefeated featherweight Timur Khizriev faces Gabriel Braga in the co-main event. Khizriev defeated Braga by split decision in their first meeting and returns after a lengthy recovery from an armed attack and broken hand.

For Carmouche, however, a second victory over Bishop would accomplish something more important than simply adding another win.

It would establish her as a reigning PFL champion immediately before entering the next phase of her career.

That makes a potential fight with Cyborg much easier to sell.

PFL Has to Prove It Can Keep Its Biggest Stars

The Cyborg situation also comes at an important moment for the new PFL/MVP organization.

Cyborg is a free agent. So is Usman Nurmagomedov, who completed his PFL contract after knocking out Archie Colgan in the first round at PFL New York. Nurmagomedov subsequently entered free agency with the UFC widely viewed as a potential destination.

That creates an important test for MVP.

A promotion can acquire tremendous talent, but eventually the biggest question becomes whether it can retain that talent when the contracts expire.

Losing Nurmagomedov to the UFC would be a significant example of an elite fighter reaching free agency and finding another home. Retaining Cyborg, meanwhile, could give the promotion an opportunity to demonstrate that its new business model can keep the biggest names in the sport while creating fights that cannot easily be replicated elsewhere.

Cyborg is precisely the type of fighter a promotion should want to build around: a five-promotion world champion, a historic 30-win fighter, a recognizable international star and an athlete with legitimate crossover appeal beyond MMA.

The Fight Makes Sense

If Carmouche wins in Chicago, the conversation should become very real.

Cyborg does not need another ordinary contender fight.

Carmouche does not need another fight simply to add a name to her record.

But a champion-versus-champion superfight between two pioneers of women’s MMA is different.

And if the Rousey matchup cannot be made, a Cyborg-Carmouche fight could give MVP/PFL another premium matchup built around two established legends rather than relying exclusively on emerging stars.

Carmouche has already put the idea into the universe.

Now she has to win in Chicago.

If she does, the next question for the new MVP/PFL organization may be simple:

Can they keep Cris Cyborg—and can they turn “Legend vs. Legend” into one of the biggest women’s MMA fights of the new era?