Liz Carmouche had actually blended sensations when she learnt Bellator offered to PFL.
When the sale finished, Carmouche was hardly a month eliminated from her 3rd straight title defense as Bellator flyweight champ. She anxiously awaited her next project, however instead of moving on in the brand-new variation of Bellator, the 40-year-old veteran moved to the PFL to sign up with the upcoming season-long competition that starts Thursday.
“The enjoyment, the capacity, specifically for a woman, to make the most cash you might ever make in your profession, that was extremely amazing,” Carmouche informed MMA Fighting about her transfer to PFL. “To have another belt in another promo. Once again, actually delighted.
“But likewise wishing to safeguard the belt that I made and have a possibility to keep going on and having effective title defenses– I’ve spoken to other fighters like Ilima [Lei-Macfarlane] who went over the concept of having a season and understanding when you’re going to battle, to be able to get another belt, simply sounded so amazing.”
As part of the PFL season, Carmouche might possibly contend 4 times in 2024, which would work as her most active year considering that debuting with 6 battles in 2010. Including the $1 million reward granted to the winner at the end of the season was likewise a welcome benefit.
What about her Bellator title?
Reality be informed, even Carmouche has no concept about that concern.
“I do not understand either,” Carmouche stated with a laugh. “My response is we’re both still in limbo. It’s unusual, however at the exact same time it’s type of enjoyable. You get a fresh start every year. I deal with every title defense like it’s not my belt and I’m choosing that belt each and every single time, so this legally is precisely what I’m doing. I do not need to pretend and inform myself that.”
If her unidentified status as Bellator champ wasn’t puzzling enough, Carmouche likewise discovered she’ll be starting the 2024 PFL season with a familiar enemy as her very first challenger.
Instead of pit her up versus any of the other fighters in the competition, Carmouche was compared with ex-Bellator champ Juliana Velasquez, who she’s currently dealt with and beat two times.
[I was] 150 percent amazed,” Carmouche stated of her response to the reservation. “I believed it was going to be Taila Santos. To me, she appears to be the most harmful individual therein, she’s most likely going to be my first-round match. Great, let’s get the hardest one out at the start and after that we can sort of enter order backwards.. for whatever factor, not having actually seen Velasquez battle because our last battle, she simply didn’t even go on my radar as a possibility of remaining in the competition. Obviously she is, however I simply didn’t think of it.
“So [they told me] ‘it’s going to be Velasquez,’ and [I said]