Grappling with Change

Jena Bishop’s strong BJJ roots and undefeated record have her feeling highly positive going into her Professional Fighters League debut.

Things did seem uncertain when her home promotion, Bellator MMA, was first acquired by the PFL. “Getting into the PFL season eased my mind a bit. It's cool that they're doing the season with the flyweights,” Bishop told Sherdog.com. “It's cool to be part of the first-ever tournament that they're doing with the flyweights. And now there’s a little bit more security on my end, of what my career is going to look like going forward.”

The Missouri native will be clashing against Australia’s Chelsea Hackett on April 4 at the Boeing Center in San Antonio.

The John Wayne Parr-trained Hackett is an accomplished kickboxer and muay thai champion. As such, fans might expect to see an old-fashioned grappler vs. striker bout, where each fighter tries to avoid the other one’s comfort zone. That’s not how Bishop sees it, though. “It wouldn't be the first time that this has happened. Even the girls that I've fought with more of a grappling background, they still don't want to go to the ground with me because it's very different.” She added. “So, I get an opportunity if we're on the feet to show what I can do. And then I'm always working on my wrestling and grappling and trying to be a better fighter than I was in the last fight. It makes no difference to me. I'm just excited to be in there and put on the show.”

Currently the owner of a 6-0 MMA record, Bishop holds notable wins over the likes of Ilara Joanne and Luana Santos. She earned her rank under BJJ royalty. “Royler Gracie tied the black belt around my waist, with my professor,” she said. “You can't get much closer to the roots of jiu-jitsu. Having learned under that lineage has definitely given me a solid foundation.”

Bishop’s move from BJJ to MMA was prompted by a very human need – a steady income. “It's really good to have a little bit of a change of pace and some new challenges. MMA is a little different from just jiu-jitsu and I can make more money,” she shared. “I think I lost a lot of money doing jiu-jitsu – spending and traveling. I'm really enjoying it. It's going really good for me so far, so I'm pretty happy with the decision.”

Bishop has been able to tap into a fountain of MMA knowledge in preparation for the PFL million-dollar tournament featuring former and current Bellator champions Juliana Velasquez and Liz Carmouche. “My striking coach is A.J. Matthews, a former Bellator fighter. My grappling coach is Johnny Faria. He's my jiu-jitsu professor. And then I also have my husband in my corner who is also a jiu-jitsu black belt. He's there to keep me sane, and deal with all my ups and downs emotionally throughout fight camp. You get tired, you get emotional, and then you need somebody there. Angela Hill is one of my best training partners. We are training almost every day together consistently. And I'm so grateful to have her because she's always down to just keep working. We're both making each other better because she's the striker and I'm the grappler. We balance each other out and can help each other in the areas that we need, [where] we have weaknesses.”

At 38 years old, some fighters might consider slowing down but the very upbeat Bishop has other plans. “My plan is to win the whole thing...if it wasn't the goal, I don't know what I'm doing here,” she said. “That's what I want. I want to be the champion. I want to be the best there is, and I want to be the best flyweight in the world.”