Bellator 300 was a special night for flyweight Jena Bishop, and not just because it was a milestone for the promotion.
The undefeated Bishop (6-0) has fought in Wisconsin, Colorado, Arizona, and even Burbank, CA — but her October bout with Ilara Joanne was her first chance to fight at home in San Diego.
Bishop picked up a submission win inside of a round at the event, latching onto a nasty-looking arm-bar. A few weeks removed from the experience, she caught up with Cageside Press, addressing her experience fighting at home, and Bellator MMA’s future.
“It was cool because it was really relaxed, just it felt like, I was talking with one of my coaches, it’s just like ‘oh I’m just going into sparring today.’ It’s a little bit of pressure off,” Bishop said of fighting at home. “And being able to be at home, sleep in my own bed, have my dogs there, have extra training partners, all my training partners there. Because you travel, I get to take my coaches, I don’t get to travel with everyone.”
Bishop works with Angela Hill as one of her main training partners, and fighting in San Diego allowed her to do her weight cut at Hill’s home. “I got to do my weight cut there which was super chill and a fun time. She always called it a weight cut party. A lot of people around me to distract me from the misery of cutting weight. It was fun, it was cool.”
The win over Joanne marked Jena Bishop’s second victory for Bellator, having called the company home for just shy of a year now. But in reality whether it remains home is up in the air, with Bellator currently on the auction block. Rival PFL is rumored to be purchasing the company, but while talks have been confirmed, no sale has been announced to date.
Asked about what her future might entail, Bishop replied by saying “I don’t know. That’s the thing, it’s kind of hard. As far as I know, I would love to fight in the UFC, who wouldn’t. But I would also love PFL. Their flyweight division is pretty new and I would love to be a part of that, get an opportunity to fight in their tournament or something like that.”
“I really don’t care where I’m at as long as I’m fighting, and I’m getting a chance to prove myself and fight against the best people. Because that’s what I want to do, I want to be the best and I want to prove to other people that that’s what I am and that’s what I can do.”
While Bishop is remaining open when it comes to her options, she does recognize the difficult situation Bellator’s fighters and staff find themselves in.
“I’m open I guess. It sucks because Bellator, I’ve only been with them for two fights now, I just signed with them a year ago and then everything’s been up in the air basically since I signed. I enjoy the company, they’re a great promotion so hopefully it all gets sorted out soon. Because it is kind of tough just being in limbo. I know that for fighters that’s the case, but all the employees there too. Because I’ve talked to several people, and nobody knows what’s going to happen. But I’m happy going where ever I can fight.”
Watch our full interview with Bellator 300’s Jena Bishop above.
