Jena Bishop

Jena Rae Bishop (born February 22, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitor. In grappling she is an eleven-time medalist at IBJJF world championships, winning the No-Gi World Championship at black belt in 2017, both her weight class and the open class at the 2017 World Master Championship, and the World Championship at brown belt in 2013.

Bishop began her professional mixed martial arts career in 2021 and competes in the women's flyweight division of the Professional Fighters League (PFL), where she was the runner-up in the 2025 women's flyweight world tournament. As of August 2026 she holds a record of 11–3, with wins over Kana Watanabe, Ekaterina Shakalova, Luana Santos, Elina Kallionidou and Ariane Lipski da Silva, and is ranked fourth in the promotion's women's flyweight division.

Background

Bishop is from St. Charles, Missouri, outside St. Louis, where she ran track and cross country in high school. She began training Brazilian jiu-jitsu in 2007 after being introduced to the sport by her future husband, Tyler Bishop. JW Wright promoted her through every belt rank, awarding her black belt on July 13, 2013. She moved to San Diego in 2016 and joined Alliance Jiu-Jitsu San Diego in 2019.

Mixed martial arts career

Legacy Fighting Alliance

During the COVID-19 shutdown of jiu-jitsu competition, Bishop trained with and cornered former UFC title challenger Cat Zingano before transitioning to mixed martial arts, also sparring with Angela Hill. She made her professional debut in 2021, signing with Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA). She won all four of her LFA bouts, submitting Helen Lucero at LFA 116 in October 2021 and Olivia Beeskau at LFA 145 in October 2022, and taking decisions over Dione Barbosa and Luana Santos.

Bellator MMA

Bishop signed a multi-fight contract with Bellator MMA in October 2022. She won a unanimous decision over Elina Kallionidou at Bellator 291 in Dublin in February 2023, and submitted Ilara Joanne with a first-round armbar at Bellator 300 in San Diego that October.

Professional Fighters League

Following the acquisition of Bellator by the PFL, Bishop entered the promotion's 2024 women's flyweight season, submitting Chelsea Hackett in the first round at PFL 1. She lost a split decision to Taila Santos at PFL 4 in June 2024 and was stopped by Dakota Ditcheva in the semifinals at PFL 7 that August.

In the 2025 PFL World Tournament, Bishop won a unanimous decision over Kana Watanabe in April 2025 and submitted Ekaterina Shakalova with a second-round rear-naked choke in the June semifinal in Wichita, Kansas, reaching the final. On August 15, 2025, at PFL 9 in Charlotte, North Carolina, she lost the women's flyweight tournament final to former Bellator champion Liz Carmouche by third-round stoppage.

Bishop was ranked seventh at women's flyweight when the PFL introduced official rankings in January 2026. She submitted Borena Tsertsvadze in the first round at PFL Chicago in April 2026, and submitted former UFC fighter Ariane Lipski da Silva with a first-round armbar at PFL San Diego that June. As of August 2026 the PFL ranked Bishop fourth in its women's flyweight division.

Bishop is scheduled to face Liz Carmouche in a rematch with for the inaugural PFL Women's Flyweight Championship on October 16, 2026, at PFL Chicago 2.

Professional grappling career

Bishop is an eleven-time medalist across the IBJJF World, World No-Gi and World Master championships. Her major titles include the 2013 World Championship at brown belt, the 2017 World No-Gi Championship at black belt, and double gold at the 2017 World Master Championship.

In 2019 Bishop won the under-60 kg division at the second ADCC North American Trials and competed at the ADCC World Championship, reaching the quarter-finals.

Fighting style

Bishop is a grappler; seven of her eleven professional wins have come by submission.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts Professional Fighters League 2025 PFL World Tournament women's flyweight runner-up

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Black belt IBJJF World No-Gi Championship: 1st place, lightweight (2017); 2nd place (2019); 3rd place (2018) IBJJF World Master Championship: 1st place, Master 1 lightweight and open class (2017) IBJJF Pan Championship: 1st place, Master 1 lightweight and open class (2017); 2nd place (2018); 3rd place (2014, 2016, 2019) IBJJF European Championship: 1st place, Master 1 lightweight and open class (2017) IBJJF American National Championship: 1st place, lightweight (2017) IBJJF World Championship: 3rd place, lightweight (2016, 2019) ADCC North American Trials: 1st place, −60 kg (2019)

Coloured belts IBJJF World Championship: 1st place, brown belt lightweight and 3rd place, brown belt open class (2013); 2nd place, purple belt lightweight and 3rd place, purple belt open class (2012) IBJJF Pan Championship: 2nd place, brown belt lightweight (2013)

Mixed martial arts record

|Win |align=center|9–2 |Ekaterina Shakalova |Submission (rear-naked choke) |PFL 6 (2025) | |align=center|2 |align=center|2:07 |Wichita, Kansas, United States

|Win |align=center|8–2 |Kana Watanabe |Decision (unanimous) |PFL 2 (2025) | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Orlando, Florida, United States

|Win |align=center|7–0 |Chelsea Hackett |Submission (armbar) |PFL 1 (2024) | |align=center|1 |align=center|4:15 |San Antonio, Texas, United States

|Win |align=center|4–0 |Olivia Beeskau |Submission (rear-naked choke) |LFA 145 | |align=center|1 |align=center|2:02 |Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States

|Win |align=center|3–0 |Luana Santos |Decision (split) |LFA 135 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Phoenix, Arizona, United States

|Win |align=center|2–0 |Dione Barbosa |Decision (unanimous) |LFA 118 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Burbank, California, United States

|Win |align=center|1–0 |Helen Lucero |Submission (rear-naked choke) |LFA 116 | |align=center|1 |align=center|3:38 |Vail, Colorado, United States |

References

External links

Jena Bishop at ESPN Jena Bishop at FloGrappling

Jena Bishop

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