As far as Liz
Carmouche is concerned, she is still the reigning Bellator
MMA flyweight champion.
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But with that in mind, making her way through the
Professional Fighters League season is currently the top
priority.
“I didn’t vacate it,” Carmouche said of her Bellator belt during a
recent PFL media call. “I don’t know where the standing is. My
understanding is that all the women are given an opportunity to
come over to the PFL, and that we chose to have the flyweight
weight class added in for PFL. So that inclusion meant that there
may not be a [125-pound] weight class in Bellator. I certainly
don’t remove the idea that if I had an opportunity to defend my
belt in Bellator I would, but right now my main focus is just
trying to achieve getting to the finals and a belt for PFL.”
Carmouche will square off against Kana
Watanabe at
PFL 4 on Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville,
Connecticut. It’s a rematch of a June 2021 fight, which Carmouche
won via 35-second technical knockout under the Bellator banner.
After earning a decision victory against Juliana
Velasquez at PFL 1, Carmouche may need a performance similar to
her first meeting with Watanabe to assure herself of a postseason
berth.
“I made a transition back in 2019 that I was going to finish
fights,” Carmouche said. “That’s what I was in pursuit of with this
last fight against Velasquez. And she did a really good job at
keeping me at bay, but I was aggressive the entire time. I just
wasn’t able to capitalize to get that finish that I wanted. That
sense of urgency has been a part of the lifestyle of who I am for
fighting. But it certainly does place a much stronger urgency on
that to be able make sure I come out with a first-round finish so
I’m in good standing and hoping to advance through the season.”
For Carmouche, adding a PFL championship to the trophy case would
be especially meaningful due to the different format utilized by
the organization.
“There’s so many different things I try to achieve in each chapter
of what I’ve made a life and a book of MMA for myself. Hearing
about PFL, the rule set, the way that the season and the points
[are done], I feel like it’s such a fair way to do things,” she
said. “This is an organization I want to be a part of…I want to be
able to raise my hand up and hold a belt up with pride. The
inclusion of into this chapter would be getting that 125 belt and
hopefully adding a 135 belt as well.”
Carmouche made her name as a 135-pound fighter, squaring off
against Ronda
Rousey for the bantamweight crown in the first women’s fight in
UFC history. She hopes that PFL might consider adding the weight
class for future seasons, because she believes that it would open
doors for athletes who might be misplaced at 125 or 145 pounds.
“It would mean so much because I feel like we’re not really seeing
much going on with the 145 females. But Bellator at least did have
a 125 and a 145 weight division,” Carmouche said. “What we didn’t
have is a 135. And PFL is now opening up and they have the heavier
weight classes for women … So I think adding that would be a staple
to send a message to other organizations that PFL is the real deal,
they’re here to stay, they’re a strong organization that’s building
all the women up. …There’s so many great fighters that have
advanced up to 145 that aren’t quite suited for the weight class or
are coming down to 125 that are suffering like myself, and add 135
[to PFL] and we can produce great exciting fights that people want
to see.”
Carmouche is so laser focused on her progress in PFL that
potentially fighting at a Bellator event in her hometown of San
Diego on Sept. 7 isn’t even a consideration.
“I’m locked in for this PFL season,” she said. “Having that
[playoff] fight Aug. 2 and then having the finals after that, I
definitely don’t want to do anything that compromises that. So as
much as I would love the opportunity to defend my belt, do it in
San Diego again, I’m locked in for PFL. I really want that
opportunity to shine and I won’t do anything that compromises that
so I can put on the best performance possible and continue to fight
for PFL.”