Liz Carmouche tests skills with Elora Dana as part of PFL's 2025 World Tournament on June 20th in the co-main event. Carmouche appeared on Bowks Talking Bouts and touched on how she felt she was just getting used to the PFL's prior points-based format. But ultimately, the former multi-division UFC title challenger prefers this newer single elimination, defined tournament bracket style for this year's PFL season, all the same.
Carmouche recently rebounded from last season after a loss on points to eventual tournament finalist Taila Santos took her out of the running. Her last PFL fight ended with emphasis against Ilara Joanne and when describing that sub-ninty second striking-based finish that was notched over her in April, Carmouche said,
"My biggest thing was just trusting when I saw an opening, right. So often it's you chase something that you think you have even if that door is barely ajar and you're having to shove it open. This one I just saw it glaring at me and trusting myself and it paid off for success in that fight."
Liz Carmouche discusses PFL semi-final focus and Cris Cyborg's influence
Liz Carmouche has now advanced to the 2025 PFL tournament semi-finals and her upcoming opponent in the smart cage, Elora Dana, is a Jungle Fight veteran coming off of a first round neck crank win in her PFL debut. When discussing Dana who boasts an overall professional record of 8-0 with a seventy five percent finishing rate, Carmouche stated,
"I'm excited for this matchup. One thing that I really like about her is she's unrelenting and she's hungry. So that makes for an exciting person. Where I don't have to worry about warming up in the fight and trying to chase after them. We're going to bring it to each other and I think that's also really exciting for fight fans. So this is a fight I'm really looking forward to."
Carmouche has had an acclaimed career in the sport having fought in the first-ever women's MMA bout in UFC history, being in a select group of martial artists to boast a win over current UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko, and she reigned impressively as the Bellator MMA flyweight champion in her own right. When asked about adding another strap next to her Bellator belt on the mantel and if someday holding a PFL belt would be a meaningful capstone to her legacy, Liz Carmouche quipped,
"Yeah, absolutely. I'm trying to just have a fraction of what Cris Cyborg has been able to achieve in her career. So having a chance to have the belt with Bellator and really enjoying being with that organization. Now being part of PFL and also enjoying it, I would love to represent as that champion and achieve something that very few people can say they've done."