PFL champion vs. UFC champion: Jena Bishop believes she's a stylistic nightmare for Natália Silva

With her PFL championship ascension, Jena Bishop is as confident as ever that she's the best women's 125-pounder in the world. While a matchup with UFC women's flyweight champion Natália Silva is unlikely unless she signs with the UFC, she believes she'd do well against her.

Jena Bishop backs herself against Natália Silva

With Valentina Shevchenko sidelined by injury for the foreseeable future, her UFC women's flyweight title went to Natália Silva, who won the vacant belt in a dominant unanimous decision over Wang Cong at UFC 332. The win extended her win streak to 15-0 and improved her record to 21-5-1. Although Silva has not lost in 9 years, Jena Bishop believes she could beat her if the two were ever matched up at a hypothetical UFC vs. PFL event. So, when asked, in a recent interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, about how she'd fare against Silva, Bishop was clear (14:44):

"I think I would do really well in that fight. I think I would win that fight."

Asked to elaborate on the reason behind her confidence, Bishop touched on her world-class grappling, which has earned her several IBJJF medals at the black belt level. More than that, she highlighted her strong takedown game, which is typically lacking in Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialists who transition to MMA.

"I mean, I think I'm a bad matchup for anybody. I think that my skillset and just my ground game alone, there's not many people that have that level of skills on the ground that I do, and I also have good, I guess, ability to get it to the ground too. It's just not every jiu-jitsu athlete can get the takedown, so I think I'm pretty well-rounded in that regard and I think that's a bad matchup for most people."

Her skills have carried her to world championship success, as she just beat WMMA legend Liz Carmouche via unanimous decision to capture the vacant PFL women's flyweight title at PFL Chicago. It was a rematch she had waited a year for, and while she entertained a fun hypothetical matchup with Silva, the real fight she is eyeing is another rematch, this one being against the undefeated Dakota Ditcheva, who TKO'd her in round one at PFL 7 back in 2024.

The two women had a face-off in the SmartCage after Bishop's recent title win, and the bout seems to be what the PFL is aiming for next. If she can take Ditcheva's undefeated record, it'll go a long way in cementing her status as one of the greatest 125-pounders in the world.