Prospect in the Spotlight (July 8-9): Jena Bishop

Introduction

Friday, July 8th, American flyweight prospect Jena Bishop will be in action for LFA, where she will be looking to possibly score a UFC contract against Luana Santos. She will be looking for another win, as Bishop looks to continue her undefeated streak as a professional MMA fighter. She represents Alliance Jiu-Jitsu, a respected camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”

Strengths

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Bishop is a major player in the female Brazilian jiu-jitsu world, as the high-level black belt has many accomplishments on the BJJ mat. She is a multiple-time IBJJF Champion, which is very impressive. Her BJJ is something that is seen in the cage as well and is obviously her best tool. She scored a rear-naked choke win in her pro MMA debut against Helen Lucero, where she was clearly the superior mat worker. She then outworked Dione Barbosa in her most recent fight, which was a big win against a fellow solid grappler. She will rarely be at a disadvantage while grappling when the cage door closes.

Needs Improvement

Age and Experience: At 36 years old, Bishop is already “old” by the standards of mixed martial arts. So her window of opportunity isn’t going to be super wide to make it as opposed to somebody who started the sport in their 20s. Plus, at just 2-0 as a pro MMA fighter, she doesn’t have much cage time, though one could argue that her vast experience in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu makes up for her little MMA experience. Either way, Bishop will have to fight at a supercharged pace to make the big leagues sooner rather than later.

Outlook

UFC Roster Member: Given her high-level Brazilian jiu-jitsu background and her connection with the LFA promotion, Bishop will have a chance to make the UFC roster. She may be a couple wins away. She has another top-notch grappler on her plate in Luana Santos, who will not give her an easy fight. As mentioned, at her age, it’s a smaller window of opportunity, but an impressive win or two could fast track Bishop to the UFC women’s flyweight division.