“When you’ve been doing it for so long and you don’t feel like you’re progressing where you want to be, it can be a tough time and you’re thinking, is this worth it?”
NASHVILLE, TN — Dakota Ditcheva has become a familiar face on the PFL roster.
To find the successor to Kayla Harrison as the female superstar to build around, the PFL looked no further than overseas to Manchester, England. Ditcheva, 25, was already a talented prospect on the regional scene with a flawless 5-0 record. However, that could have been it in MMA had “Dangerous” not gone down the PFL path.
Ditecheva won the European flyweight tournament emphatically last year, finishing all three of her opponents (two KOs, one submission) en route to the title. That series of the PFL had just begun, and before that, all was unknown. Despite growing up surrounded by combat sports, Ditcheva had her doubts, reflecting on and taking inspiration from a quote by former soccer star Mia Hamm.
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Instagram: @dakotaad_
“I think I posted that probably at a time where I was struggling,” Ditcheva told MMA Mania. “It’s the start of the year and I sometimes get a little bit lost, you know, especially before I signed with PFL. I was not sure what direction I wanted to go with the sport. When you’ve been doing it for so long and you don’t feel like you’re progressing where you want to be, it can be a tough time and you’re thinking, is this worth it? Obviously, training’s hard, dieting is hard. It was probably at a time where I was feeling sorry for myself.
“But I think, yeah, play for her. That little girl there that fell in love with the sport, just loved being in the gym, I think that was what was behind the quote. You just have to fall in love with it and just go for that person that dreamt at the beginning. Don’t forget that, for sure.”
The reign of terror has continued in the 2024 international season for Ditcheva. Now 12-0, two first-round TKO wins over Lisa Mauldin and Chelsea Hackett have led Ditcheva to the semifinals against former Bellator flyweight contender Jena Bishop at PFL Nashville tomorrow night (Fri., Aug. 2, 2024).
Although a million-dollar title win in the fight after Bishop would achieve a goal for the Brit, she very likely still won’t be satisfied.
“There’s no one harder on themselves than me,” Ditcheva said. “That’s another thing. I’m never satisfied with a ‘good’ [training] session, you know? I’m always wanting more out of myself and that’s what probably makes me the fighter I am. I won the Europeans last year, I’m not satisfied. The performances weren’t perfect. I still got loads more I need to develop in my skills and I think that’s what’s kind of fueled me for this year.
“My last two performances were good, amazing to everyone else, but to me, I saw holes I didn’t like and that’s what’s keeping me going.”
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