Latest news with #Ditcheva
USA Today
18-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
PFL announces Dakota Ditcheva will return this summer
PFL announces Dakota Ditcheva will return this summer Dakota Ditcheva asked – and now PFL says she'll receive. One day after Ditcheva (14-0) told MMA Junkie she was "gutted" by the lack of activity, it was announced on the 2025 PFL World Tournament 3 broadcast Friday she'll return in July. No date, location, or opponent coincided with this announcement. "I did just have a great chat with Donn (Davis). I did actually," Ditcheva said on the broadcast. "I'm being a little bit more hopeful now. I think people are really getting a little bit more stressed that they weren't going to have me fight this year. But guys, I'm coming back. Don't worry." Ditcheva, 26, broke through as a star in the promotion in 2024 as she went 4-0 with four finishes en route to a 2024 PFL women's flyweight championship. Ditcheva has not competed since November when she finished former UFC title challenger Taila Santos with strikes in less than two full rounds.
BBC News
18-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'Gutted' PFL champion Ditcheva calls for fight
Manchester fighter Dakota Ditcheva says she is "gutted" not to have any fight on the horizon in the 26, won the PFL's 2024 flyweight world title, but the PFL have since made sweeping changes to their events including downgrading the tournament will compete on the newly created 'PFL Champions Series' in 2025 and can only watch from afar as the PFL's other flyweights begin competing in the tournament this month."I'm gutted that I haven't had anything just yet," Ditcheva told MMA Junkie., external"I'm just like: Get me anything. Literally I get it's hard for PFL."They've put all the girls in the tournament. Now they have to find someone that's going to give me a good competition."Ditcheva has been told by the PFL she will likely fight at the end of the year against the tournament winner, having last fought in November."What if the champion doesn't end up coming out of the fight clean? What if they're injured?" Ditcheva said."Someone who has fought three times, do they want to fight me at the end of the year?"They might say, 'sorry, I'm injured, or I don't want to fight this year, I'll do it in January'. That's a whole year out for me. It's testing for sure, but something will come."Ditcheva is not the only PFL star to speak out about the scheduling, with several fighters demanding the securing of their release from the MMA promotion including Patricio Pitbull who subsequently signed for the Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen posted on social media in February that he hadn't "heard a peep" about any Fabian Edwards, who lost to Eblen in his last outing in October, will fight in the first round of middleweight tournament on Friday and appealed to the PFL to get their best fighters booked."To see all those guys on the sidelines for a year or over a year, it's craziness. I just hope they can sort out what they need to sort out," Edwards said."I hope they fight all the guys soon. This is how we make our living. This is what we sacrifice everything for. Hopefully, they sort everything out."
USA Today
17-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Dakota Ditcheva 'gutted' by PFL keeping next fight in limbo, trying to trust process
Dakota Ditcheva 'gutted' by PFL keeping next fight in limbo, trying to trust process Show Caption Hide Caption Dakota Ditcheva 'gutted' as PFL keeps next fight in limbo 2024 PFL champion Dakota Ditcheva talks to MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn about her frustration with PFL waiting for her next date and opponent. COCONUT CREEK, Fla. – Dakota Ditcheva has no answers about the date or opponent for her next fight, and it's stirring some frustration within the unbeaten rising PFL star. Ditcheva (14-0) said she is making a good faith effort to support PFL and its plan for her future. However, she hasn't competed since capturing the 2024 PFL women's flyweight championship last November and is clueless as to how much longer she has to wait. "I'm not hearing a lot," Ditcheva told MMA Junkie on Thursday. "Obviously the (2025) tournament has just kicked off for the girls, which I'm very happy for everyone that's in it – kind of. I'd like to be in myself. I am happy to see the girls building the division and get that going. For me, I don't really know what's happening. The only thing I've heard is the winner of that tournament might fight me at the end of the year, which is fine, but it leaves me a very long time without a fight. I'm hoping me and PFL can work something out before then and get me back in the cage for the fans." Ditcheva said she has been pushing to return to the cage since shortly after her second-round TKO of Taila Santos to the win the $1 million weight class prize. She traveled from her native England to American Top Team in Florida earlier this year in hopes something would come, but the phone hasn't rung. Ditcheva: 'Got to just believe in the process' For a 26-year-old who based so much of her identity and passion around competition, Ditcheva said this holding pattern has deeply tested her patience. "The prize was amazing, the belt is amazing, but for me, I want to fight," Ditcheva said. "I've always been a really active fighter, so this for me now, especially not having anything even lined up, is really mentally challenging for me. I've really got to just believe in the process and let everything happen as it should. "It's testing me for sure. That's probably why I went home, because at the start I was here in Florida training and nothing lined up. Seeing everyone train for this tournament, it was really disheartening for me. I went home, refreshed a little bit and now I'm back, ready to get back in the gym and hopefully something happens." Ditcheva, who returned to American Top Team on Thursday to continue her training evolution, said she would've been happy to join the eight-woman field in the 2025 PFL World Tournament. She said she understands why she was held out after already beating most of the notable names, but that situation would've been much preferred over what she's currently enduring. "I'm gutted that I haven't had anything just yet," Ditcheva said. "I'm just like: Get me anything. Literally I get it's hard for PFL. They've put all the girls in the tournament. Now they have to find someone that's going to give me a good competition. They can't give me someone that's just kind of signed to the PFL and doesn't have much experience. It doesn't make much sense. I've just beat Santos. Very easily." Does PFL's vision for Ditcheva make sense? As Ditcheva continues to hope and wait for PFL to communicate its plans, she reminds the company that she's "in contract and you guys have to have me fight." She wants to have faith in the company that has put so much support behind her, but if the goal is to wait to match Ditcheva up against 2025 World Tournament winner, she said that's not a vision she can support. "They're like, 'Oh, we're going to put you in at the end of the year.' What if the champion doesn't end up coming out of the fight clean? What if they're injured?" Ditcheva said. "Someone who has fought three times, do they want to fight me at the end of the year? They might say, 'Sorry, I'm injured, or I don't want to fight this year, I'll do it in January.' That's a whole year out for me. It's testing for sure, but something will come."
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Taila Santos not surprised to see Dakota Ditcheva out of 2025 PFL tournament, still wants rematch
Taila Santos wants a rematch with Dakota Ditcheva, but she wasn't holding her breath on meeting her once again in a PFL tournament. Santos (22-4) and Ditcheva (14-0) were the two finalists for last year's PFL women's flyweight tournament. It was a big fight for the promotion, as it pitted a former UFC title challenger against one of the best undefeated talents today. In the end, Ditcheva walked away with a finish, the 2024 PFL title, and the $1 million prize. "Every fighter need to know how to handle a loss because a loss leaves you a lot more to learn than a win," Santos told Hablemos MMA in Portuguese. "Defeats give you the chance to reflect and see what you need to improve. So I'm grateful for that loss. I can't stay down and sad after winning three fights and then suffering a loss. "As you said, that loss was very important to prepare and analyze what I need to improve on so I can evolve for this next season." Santos, who fought for a UFC title in 2020 in a close fight against champion Valentina Shevchenko, admits Ditcheva was a tough adversary. But on top of having a tough test, she also doesn't feel like she showed up that night in the 2024 PFL women's flyweight final. "She's very tall, and that was difficult. It was the first time I fought with someone that tall," Ditcheva said. "Now, speaking about myself, I honestly wasn't able to find my rhythm in that fight. I'm just speaking about me, not her. Athletes will understand me in the sense that you don't always train well. You have bad days. Sometimes you do to the gym and you just don't train well. That's what happened that night. I couldn't find myself. I wasn't there in the fight." Santos, 31, meets fellow Brazilian Juliana Velasquez (13-3) in the opening round of this year's tournament. She wasn't shocked to see Ditcheva out of the 2025 tournament. Although her absence killed her chances of a potential rematch in the near future, Santos would like to run things back with her eventually. "It didn't surprise me," Santos said when asked about Ditcheva not participating in the tournament. "I did think that maybe she wasn't going to be in the tournament, trying to do other type of negotiations with PFL. I don't know why she's not in the tournament. Most champions usually return and participate again in the next tournaments. But even though she's not in the tournament, people can still rematch her. "PFL also does super fights, so maybe we can do a fight between us two again," Santos said. "I think it will be very interesting to do a super fight, at the end of the year, December. It's interesting that she's not in the tournament, but we can rematch in a super fight." PFL Week 1 predictions: Which welterweights, featherweights do we like out of the chute in 2025? Photos: 2025 PFL World Tournament 1 ceremonial weigh-ins and final faceoffs PFL's Jesus Pinedo excited to use elbows vs. Adam Borics: 'I will break him' This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Taila Santos not surprised to see Dakota Ditcheva out of 2025 PFL tournament, still wants rematch
USA Today
03-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Taila Santos not surprised to see Dakota Ditcheva out of 2025 PFL tournament, still wants rematch
Taila Santos wants a rematch with Dakota Ditcheva, but she wasn't holding her breath on meeting her once again in a PFL tournament. Santos (22-4) and Ditcheva (14-0) were the two finalists for last year's PFL women's flyweight tournament. It was a big fight for the promotion, as it pitted a former UFC title challenger against one of the best undefeated talents today. In the end, Ditcheva walked away with a finish, the 2024 PFL title, and the $1 million prize. 'Every fighter need to know how to handle a loss because a loss leaves you a lot more to learn than a win,' Santos told Hablemos MMA in Portuguese. 'Defeats give you the chance to reflect and see what you need to improve. So I'm grateful for that loss. I can't stay down and sad after winning three fights and then suffering a loss. 'As you said, that loss was very important to prepare and analyze what I need to improve on so I can evolve for this next season.' Santos, who fought for a UFC title in 2020 in a close fight against champion Valentina Shevchenko, admits Ditcheva was a tough adversary. But on top of having a tough test, she also doesn't feel like she showed up that night in the 2024 PFL women's flyweight final. 'She's very tall, and that was difficult. It was the first time I fought with someone that tall,' Ditcheva said. 'Now, speaking about myself, I honestly wasn't able to find my rhythm in that fight. I'm just speaking about me, not her. Athletes will understand me in the sense that you don't always train well. You have bad days. Sometimes you do to the gym and you just don't train well. That's what happened that night. I couldn't find myself. I wasn't there in the fight.' Santos, 31, meets fellow Brazilian Juliana Velasquez (13-3) in the opening round of this year's tournament. She wasn't shocked to see Ditcheva out of the 2025 tournament. Although her absence killed her chances of a potential rematch in the near future, Santos would like to run things back with her eventually. 'It didn't surprise me,' Santos said when asked about Ditcheva not participating in the tournament. 'I did think that maybe she wasn't going to be in the tournament, trying to do other type of negotiations with PFL. I don't know why she's not in the tournament. Most champions usually return and participate again in the next tournaments. But even though she's not in the tournament, people can still rematch her. 'PFL also does super fights, so maybe we can do a fight between us two again,' Santos said. 'I think it will be very interesting to do a super fight, at the end of the year, December. It's interesting that she's not in the tournament, but we can rematch in a super fight.'
