Ditcheva Makes Case For Big PFL Manchester Super Card

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images

“I’m definitely not satisfied with a world championship belt.” WASHINGTON DC — Dakota Ditcheva has become one of the PFL’s biggest stars.
The flyweight tournament looked like one of the…


2024 PFL 7: Nashville Playoffs
Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images

“I’m definitely not satisfied with a world championship belt.”

WASHINGTON DCDakota Ditcheva has become one of the PFL’s biggest stars.

The flyweight tournament looked like one of the most intriguing among the divisions set to challenge for $1 million in 2024. Bellator’s integration into the PFL roster made for several fun matchups, but mainstays like Ditcheva proved worth their salt.

Manchester, England’s Ditcheva, 26, continued her flawless 13-0 reign of terror this year by finishing all three of her opponents by first-round TKO en route to her upcoming finals title fight. Standing in the undefeated Brit’s way will be undeniably her toughest test yet, the one-time UFC title challenger Taila Santos.

Perpetually her own worst critic, Ditcheva is never satisfied and has full intentions to keep proving doubters wrong against her Brazilian counterpart. However, a no-brainer idea for the promotion is something “Dangerous” wants to be a part of after she claims gold.

“I’m definitely not satisfied with a world championship belt,” Ditcheva told MMA Mania. “I’ll definitely have to defend that.

“One of the big things would be like a Manchester card. I’ll say it now, PFL needs to go to Manchester. Obviously, we’ve got Brendan [Loughnane]. If we had him on the card, we’ve got a load of U.K. fighters that have signed with PFL Europe that we could put on the card. I just think it’s a place we’re really missing out on, and I feel like especially when 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 headliner? They could put Jake Paul on it as well.”

A future PFL Manchester card doesn’t necessarily hinge on a Ditcheva title win before 2025. It certainly helps though, and to achieve that, she’ll need to become only the fourth woman to defeat the talented Santos in her 25-fight career (22-3).

Regardless of the high-level challenge, the young superstar knows she has what it takes to score her 13th finish victory (11 KO/TKOs, 1 submission).

“Probably experience, maybe,” Ditcheva said of Santos’ biggest threat. “She’s fought literally at the top of the game. She’s done five rounds before. Yeah, I think that’s the only really big threat. I feel like I’m still on her level in all areas. I think I showed in the last fight. I stopped Jena in the first round. She’s gone to a split decision. I know, obviously, sometimes you can have off days and stuff, but it just shows I’m still on that level. So I think it’s going to be a really exciting fight, for sure, but the only kind of thing that sets us apart is experience, I think.”


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