MMA
John Goliath|Published
DRC’s Eliezer Kubanza (10–1) believes his devastating performance at PFL Chicago has earned him a shot at the welterweight title, while serving as a rude awakening to what awaits reigning champion Thad “The Silverback” Jean (12–0).
Competing at Wintrust Arena on Friday, Kubanza secured his third consecutive victory and finish under the PFL banner since making his promotional debut at PFL Africa in December last year.
True to form, “King Kong” continued his impressive run this weekend, stopping Trey Waters (10–3) with a brutal knockout via punches at 1:36 of the opening round. Following the performance, Kubanza suggested that his display had left Jean “sh*tting his pants”.
“I think I deserve the title shot next. I got to the top 10, and right now I had another test, and I just proved that I deserve to be in that conversation,” said Kubanza following his headline bout on the PFL Chicago preliminary card, as the promotion returned to the Windy City.
“I hope he's sh*tting his pants right now, thinking, ‘Holy sh*t, this kid is the real deal.’
“To everybody else in the division, King Kong is in the building.
“You guys got to pack now, you know, and go home, because I'm in the building. I'm not here to kiss somebody's feet.”
Earlier this year in Washington, Jean captured the PFL Welterweight Championship with a third-round TKO victory over Ernesto “Starboy” Rodriguez (11–2).
In a back-and-forth battle, Jean overcame adversity after being dropped to the canvas and having to dig deep against Rodriguez, who delivered a performance that saw the Cuban come agonisingly close to claiming championship gold.
“Starboy” turned the fight into a brawl, closing the distance and throwing heavy shots. However, Jean’s power ultimately proved too much in the third round. He dropped Rodriguez and unleashed a barrage of strikes until the referee stepped in, crowning “The Silverback” champion in the nation’s capital.
While Kubanza is eager to face the reigning champion, he acknowledged that he has some personal matters to address before returning to action.
“Right now, I have some personal stuff I have to fix. So hopefully, at the beginning of next year, unless something comes up as soon as possible in December. Hopefully, next year I'm back in, you know. I'm going to compete, I'm going to stay active,” Kubanza added.
In the PFL Chicago main event, Jena Bishop (12–3) showcased her superior grappling skills, grounding former Bellator champion and 2025 PFL World Tournament champion Liz Carmouche (26–9) to become the inaugural PFL Women’s Flyweight (125 lbs) World Champion.
Bishop survived a strong opening round from Carmouche before taking control of the remainder of the bout with her ground game. In the third round, Bishop came close to securing a finish with a rear-naked choke, but the durable Carmouche managed to survive.
After five rounds of action, Bishop did enough to earn a unanimous decision victory and make history in Chicago.
In the co-main event, two top-10 featherweight contenders (145 lbs) went the distance, with No. 2-ranked Timur Khizriev (19–0) edging former PFL Tournament finalist and No. 5-ranked Gabriel Braga (17–4) by split decision.
The two contenders went back and forth over 15 exciting minutes, but Khizriev ultimately did enough to secure the victory and preserve his undefeated professional MMA record.
Full PFL Chicago Main Card Results:
PFL Women’s Flyweight (125 lbs) World Championship Main Event: No. 4 Jena Bishop (12–3) defeated No. 2 Liz Carmouche (26–9) by unanimous decision (48–47 x3)
Featherweight (145 lbs) Co-Main Event: No. 2 Timur Khizriev (19–0) defeated No. 5 Gabriel Braga (17–4) by split decision (29–28 x2, 28–29)
Bantamweight (135 lbs) Bout: No. 6 Sarvarjon Khamidov (18–1) defeated Rafael do Nascimento (13–3) by KO (punches) at 1:49 in round one
Catchweight Bout (173 lbs): Oualy Tandia (6–0) defeated JP Saint Louis (12–6) by unanimous decision (30–27, 29–28 x2)
Full PFL Chicago Preliminary Card Results:
Welterweight (170 lbs) Bout: No. 8 Eliezer Kubanza (170.2 lbs) defeated Trey Waters (170.4 lbs) by KO (punches) at 1:36 in round one
Light Heavyweight (205 lbs) Bout: No. 9 Emiliano Sordi (27–14–1) defeated No. 5 (HW) Abraham Bably (8–4) by TKO (punches) at 3:13 in round two
Lightweight (155 lbs) Bout: Kevin Pease (9–0) defeated Cassio Barao (10–2–1) by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:28 in round two
Women’s Flyweight (125 lbs) Bout: No. 10 Shannon Clark (9–1) defeated Lucero Acosta (6–3) by TKO (punches) at 1:59 in round three
Lightweight (155 lbs) Bout: Gamid Khizriev (6–0) defeated Michael Boylan (6–2) by TKO (elbows) at 3:04 in round one
Bantamweight (135 lbs) Bout: Cobey Fehr (5–0) defeated Rosario Romero (4–1) by submission (rear-naked choke) at 0:58 in round one
Lightweight (155 lbs) Bout: Levan Khabalaev (6–0) defeated Brock Hammer (5–2) by TKO (strikes) at 1:01 in round one
Women’s Flyweight (125 lbs) Bout: No. 5 Paulina Wisniewska (8–1) defeated Chelsea Hackett (5–4–1) by unanimous decision (29–28 x3)
Featherweight (145 lbs) Bout: Noah Hermosillo (2–0) defeated Cade Cox (2–1) by TKO (body kick and punches) at 1:43 in round three