Liz Carmouche will defend her status as the top-ranked women's flyweight in the Professional Fighters League when she meets Viviane Araujo on June 27 at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, the promotion announced Wednesday.
Carmouche, a San Diego native, enters ranked second at 125 pounds after a dominant 2025 campaign in which she went 3-0 and won the PFL flyweight tournament. During that run she defeated Ilara Joanne, Elora Dana and Jena Bishop, finishing two of those fights by knockout or technical knockout. The 42-year-old is a former Bellator MMA flyweight champion and has challenged for titles in two weight classes in the UFC. Her resume includes wins over Juliana Velasquez twice, Valentina Shevchenko, Jessica Andrade and Ilima-Lei Macfarlane.
Araujo, 39, arrives ranked ninth in the PFL's flyweight division. The Brazilian signed with the league after a 7-6 run in the UFC from 2019 to 2025. She opened her PFL career with a unanimous decision victory over Shanna Young at PFL Chicago on April 11.
The stakes extend beyond the fight itself. The PFL noted in a release that undefeated flyweight champion Dakota Ditcheva looms over the division, and a win for either fighter could push her into title contention.
The bout serves as the co-main event on a card headlined by a featherweight matchup between A.J. McKee and Salamat Isulaev. The main card airs on ESPN2 at 10 p.m. ET, with prelims on the ESPN app starting at 7 p.m. ET.
