It’s going to be slim pickings.
Professional Fighters League (PFL) star Dakota Ditcheva secured the biggest win of her career this weekend (Fri., Nov. 29, 2024) when she demolished former Ulitmate Fighting Championship (UFC) title challenger Taila Santos in the second round via vicious body shot to win the PFL Women’s Flyweight championship (and $1 million) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (watch highlights).
After her big win, Ditcheva caught up with talkSPORT and expressed some worry about the 2025 season because she had just defeated her toughest test to date.
“I don’t know, we haven’t spoken about it too much with PFL,” Ditcheva said when asked about her future. “I think it’s difficult because for me, I just beat the top girl that is out there. So, if you put me back in the tournament, I’m gonna get more stick for fighting the same girls and people that are lower level.
“So, does it make sense to do that with someone that’s like, I feel like I bring in a lot of attention and stuff like that, so I feel maybe a super fight might suit a little bit better, but then, is anyone going to watch the season without me in it? I don’t know. We’ll see what happens.”
Throughout the 2024 Women’s Flyweight season, Ditcheva was criticized for being matched up with less competition instead of being tested early—like the other women in the tournament. At the end of the day, it didn’t matter because she beat up the toughest fighter in the bracket and made it look easy.
But her concern about next year has merit because there isn’t anyone else besides current Bellator champion Liz Carmouche and a rematch with Santos.
Maybe PFL can sign someone from Women’s promotion, Invicta, or get lucky with a UFC fighter testing free agency, but other than that, the future is bleak.
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