Manchester native Dakota Ditcheva is quickly becoming one of MMA’s biggest stars.
After taking the world by storm under the PFL Europe banner in 2023, ‘Dangerous’ has seen her star rise as part of the inaugural PFL flyweight women’s tournament, earning a trio of first-round knockouts against Lisa Mauldin, Chelsea Hackett, and Jena Bishop. Those wins have led her to the PFL Championships in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where she’ll face Taila Santos in the $1 million final on November 29.
As is the case with any fighter on the fast track to fame and fortune, Ditcheva has seen her fair share of detractors come out of the woodwork — many of them accusing the PFL of feeding her favorable matchups to ensure her entry into the flyweight finale at The Mayadeen.
Dakota Ditcheva encourages fighters to stop making excuses and start getting noticed
Speaking with MMA Fighting ahead of her return to the Smart Cage, Ditcheva chalked up the negativity to a few jealous fighters who haven’t put in the same work she has to get noticed.
Dakota Ditcheva is the greatest female flyweight MMA fighter in the world right now@dakotadofficial #pfl #mma #fights pic.twitter.com/tZcXZitSyp
— Fight Videos
(@Fight_Vdos) August 3, 2024
“There is definitely a little bit of jealousy I think and a bit of frustration from a few fighters,” Ditcheva said. “I get it…it’s a business. We have to be able to sell these fights in order to get paid. If you want to get paid, do something. Make your fights exciting or get on social media and make an effort. You have to.
“The people that were mad at these fighters, certain fighters making money, but if you look at the ones making money, it’s the personalities in the sport. Or the fighters that are doing something different,” Ditcheva continued. “I don’t know why anybody is getting frustrated just with me. Because I’m just like, getting what I can out of my years in this sport and I feel like that would be the clever thing to do” (h/t MMA News).
Overall, Ditcheva is a perfect 13-0 with 11 of her wins coming by way of knockout and one submission.
Including her work in PFL Europe, ‘Dangerous’ has a 100% finish rate inside the Smart Cage — a stat she’ll look to keep intact against another well-known finisher in the world of women’s MMA.
