Liz Carmouche vs Viviane Araujo set for PFL San Diego co-main
Liz Carmouche will face Viviane Araujo in a women’s flyweight bout that could determine the next challenger to Dakota Ditcheva on June 27 at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.
The Professional Fighters League announced the co-main event Wednesday, matching its 2025 tournament champion Carmouche against the Brazilian who just earned her first promotional win over Shanna Young by decision earlier this month, per MMA Fighting. Carmouche stands at No. 2 in the PFL flyweight rankings while Araujo sits ninth, according to Sherdog.
Carmouche riding three-fight knockout streak into Araujo test
The 42-year-old San Diego native tore through last year’s tournament bracket with three straight wins, stopping Ilara Joanne and Elora Dana before knocking out Jena Bishop in the finals. That run avenged her lone PFL loss, a 2024 decision to Taila Santos, and extended Carmouche’s record outside the UFC to 12-1 since 2019. The former Bellator flyweight champion has beaten Juliana Velasquez twice along with Ilima-Lei Macfarlane during that stretch.
Araujo went 7-6 across six years in the UFC before signing with PFL, splitting decisions against the likes of Tracy Cortez, Natalia Silva, and Alexa Grasso while picking up wins over Karine Silva, Jennifer Maia, and Andrea Lee. The 39-year-old looked sharp in her promotional debut against Young at PFL Chicago on April 11.
According to a PFL release, the winner moves into the title conversation with undefeated flyweight champion Ditcheva, who recently returned from a hand injury that sidelined her for several months. The main event pairs A.J. McKee against Salamat Isbulaev at featherweight. The main card airs on ESPN2 at 10 p.m. ET with prelims streaming on the ESPN app at 7 p.m. ET.
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