Washington, DC — Dakota Ditcheva has become one of the biggest stars in the PFL.
The flyweight tournament looked to be one of the most exciting of the divisions fighting for $1 million in 2024. The integration of Bellator into the PFL roster made for several exciting matchups, but regulars like Ditcheva proved valuable.
The 26-year-old Ditcheva, from Manchester, England, continued her flawless 13-0 reign of terror this year by defeating all three of her opponents by first-round TKO to advance to her upcoming title shot in the final. Standing in the way of the undefeated Brit will undoubtedly be her toughest test yet, the former UFC title challenger Taila Santos.
Ditcheva is always her own worst critic, never satisfied and has every intention of proving the doubters wrong against her Brazilian counterpart. However, an obvious idea for the promotion is something that “Dangerous” would want to be a part of after she wins gold.
“I’m definitely not satisfied with a world championship belt,” Ditcheva told MMA Mania. “I definitely have to defend it.”
“One of the big things would be a Manchester card. I’m saying it now, the PFL has to go to Manchester. Of course we have Brendan (Loughnan). If we had him on the card, we have a lot of UK fighters signed to PFL Europe that we could put on the card. I just think it’s a place that we’re really missing out on and I think especially if I win the belt and then Brendan wins it for the second time. How can they say no to doing a Manchester card? Big double headliners? They could Jake Paul also on that.”
A future PFL card for Manchester doesn’t necessarily depend on Ditcheva winning the title before 2025. But it certainly helps, and to achieve that she will have to become only the fourth woman to defeat the talented Santos in her 25-fight career (22-3).
Despite the demanding challenge, the young superstar knows that she has what it takes to achieve her 13th victory (11 KO/TKOs, 1 submission).
“Probably experience,” Ditcheva said of Santos’ biggest threat. “She’s literally fought at the top of her game. She’s lasted five rounds already. Yeah, I think that’s the only real big threat. I feel like I’m still on her level in all areas. I think I showed that in the last fight. I stopped Jena in the first round. She won by split decision. I know, of course, sometimes you have bad days and stuff, but that just shows that I’m still on that level. So I think it’s definitely going to be a really exciting fight, but the one thing that sets us apart is experience, I think.”
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