Tag: Kayla Harrison

Fans Cry Foul as Kayla Harrison Edges Out Dakota Ditcheva for 2024 ESPN Honor

Fans Cry Foul as Kayla Harrison Edges Out Dakota Ditcheva for 2024 ESPN HonorDakota Ditcheva or Kayla Harrison? Kayla Harrison has been named ESPN’s Female Fighter of the Year for 2024. While…

Fans Cry Foul as Kayla Harrison Edges Out Dakota Ditcheva for 2024 ESPN Honor

Dakota Ditcheva or Kayla Harrison? Kayla Harrison has been named ESPN’s Female Fighter of the Year for 2024. While Harrison’s accomplishments are impressive, the decision has sparked a debate among fans, with many arguing that Dakota Ditcheva had a stronger case for the award.

Kayla Harrison Or Dakota Ditcheva

Kayla Harrison is a former Olympic judo gold medalist who had an incredible run in the PFL and later transitioned to the UFC. Her debut came at UFC 300 in April, where she submitted former bantamweight champion Holly Holm in the second round. This victory immediately placed her among the top contenders in the 135-pound division. Harrison solidified her position in October at UFC 307, defeating Ketlen Vieira by unanimous decision. The two wins improved her professional record to 18-1.

However, fans have pointed to Dakota Ditcheva’s perfect year as a strong counterargument to Harrison’s selection. Competing in the PFL, Ditcheva delivered four dominant performances, with her becoming the youngest champion in PFL history.

She kicked off the year with back-to-back TKO victories over Lisa Mauldin and Chelsea Hackett, then secured a semifinal win against Jena Bishop in August also via knockout.

In November, Ditcheva claimed the PFL Women’s Flyweight Tournament title and a $1 million prize by defeating former UFC title challenger Taila Santos via TKO. The 25-year-old British fighter ended 2024 with a flawless 14-0 record, earning her recognition as the first British female MMA world champion. Additionally, she was the first fighter ever to stop Santos.

Kayla Harrison Or Dakota Ditcheva

Critics of ESPN’s decision argue that Ditcheva’s historic achievements and unbeaten record should have tipped the scales in her favor. While Harrison’s UFC debut and victories were significant, some fans believe they fell short of Ditcheva’s remarkable run through the PFL tournament. Harrison defeated an over-the-hill Holm and narrowly edged Viera while Ditcheva dominated the field and made history.

Fans Balk at Harrison over Ditcheva

Here are various comments by fans:

“I love Kayla but Dakota Ditcheva would like to have a word…”

“Dakota Ditcheva is 4-0 in 2024 under the PFL banner with 4 knockouts. She’s you’re real 2024 WMMA Fighter of the Year winner.”

“Dakota Ditcheva should have won this. 4-0 over the year, all KO wins with no girl making it out of the 2nd round.”

“Dakota ditcheva should’ve won she went 4-0 in 2024 all by tko”

Quote: Julianna Peña ‘Guaranteed’ To Lose UFC Title If She Fights Kayla Harrison

One of UFC Bantamweight Champion Julianna Peña’s peers isn’t giving her much of a chance against the charging Kayla Harrison. Peña and Harrison appear to be on a collision course for 2025 after their respective victories at the UFC 307 pay-per-view in Salt Lake City this past October. While the former regained the 135-pound gold […]

One of UFC Bantamweight Champion Julianna Peña’s peers isn’t giving her much of a chance against the charging Kayla Harrison.

Peña and Harrison appear to be on a collision course for 2025 after their respective victories at the UFC 307 pay-per-view in Salt Lake City this past October.

While the former regained the 135-pound gold in the co-main event by narrowly and controversially outpointing Raquel Pennington, the ex-PFL standout moved to 2-0 in the Octagon with a victory over Ketlen Vieira.

Harrison had already been pointed to as a worthy title challenger after she emphatically dispatched former champ Holly Holm by way of submission on debut at UFC 300. But having added another name to her record’s win column after being made to fight another contender, the two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo is widely seen as next in line.

“The Venezuelan Vixen,” however, instead called out longtime rival Amanda Nunes following her victory. And according to one UFC fighter, that’s perhaps smart if she wants to prolong her reign…

During a recent interview with InsideFighting, formerly ranked flyweight Miranda Maverick gave her assessment of the expected next championship contest at 135 pounds.

Suffice to say, her view won’t make for good reading in the Peña household.

“I think Kayla will win,” Maverick said. “I think her striking is not very good and hasn’t seemed to improve very much over time, but I think she’ll win regardless. I think she’ll get it to the ground, and Peña won’t be getting back up. Yeah, Peña will lose her title if she goes against Kayla, guaranteed.”

While an opponent for the first defense of Peña’s second stint on the bantamweight throne has not been confirmed, she has pointed to International Fight Week in mid-2025 as her desired return date.

Kayla Harrison Doesn’t Need Good Striking to Beat Julianna Pena, Guarantees UFC Fighter

Kayla Harrison Doesn't Need Good Striking to Beat Julianna Pena, Guarantees UFC FighterMiranda Maverick thinks Kayla Harrison will dethrone Julianna Pena, even with subpar striking. Over the years, Harrison has become…

Kayla Harrison Doesn't Need Good Striking to Beat Julianna Pena, Guarantees UFC Fighter

Miranda Maverick thinks Kayla Harrison will dethrone Julianna Pena, even with subpar striking.

Over the years, Harrison has become one of the most dominant female fighters in MMA history, winning back-to-back PFL championships and dominating in her first two appearances under the UFC banner. Now, Harrison finds herself as the No. 2 ranked contender in the bantamweight division and is likely the next woman in line to challenge reigning 135-pound queen Julianna Pena.

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‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ reclaimed the title in October via a split decision victory over Raquel Pennington at UFC 307.

Maverick claims Kayla Harrison’s victory over Pena is ‘guaranteed’

Aside from Larissa Pacheco, Pena could very well be the best striker Harrison has ever faced, but according to Maverick, none of that will matter once it’s time for the two to step inside the Octagon.

“I think Kayla will win,” Maverick told Inside Fighting. “I think her striking is, uh, not very good and hasn’t seemed to improve very much over time, but I think she’ll win regardless. I think she’ll get it to the ground, and Pena won’t be getting back up. Um, and yeah, Pena will lose her title if she goes against Kayla. Guaranteed.”

No official announcements have been made regarding their potential showdown, but considering Pena has only competed three times since 2021, we could be waiting a while.

Pena is 8-3 in the UFC with her losses coming against former champions Valentina Shevchenko, Germain de Randamie, and Amanda Nunes.

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Harrison is 18-1 in her MMA career, her only loss coming against Pacheco at the 2022 PFL World Championship. The following year, Harrison bounced back with a dominant win over Aspen Ladd before exiting the promotion and signing with the UFC. In 2024, she earned wins over Holly Holm and Ketlen Vieira.

Kayla Harrison

Dakota Ditcheva Questions Quality of Competition in 2025 PFL Tournament: ‘I Just Beat the Top Girl’

Dakota Ditcheva Questions Quality of Competition in Future PFL Tournaments: 'I Just Beat the Top Girl'After smashing her way through Taila Santos at the PFL World Championship in Riyadh, Dakota Ditcheva can’t help but…

Dakota Ditcheva Questions Quality of Competition in Future PFL Tournaments: 'I Just Beat the Top Girl'

After smashing her way through Taila Santos at the PFL World Championship in Riyadh, Dakota Ditcheva can’t help but wonder what’s left for her to accomplish in 2025.

‘Dangerous’ ran the table during this year’s inaugural PFL women’s flyweight tournament, earning four straight finishes, including a second-round TKO against former UFC title challenger Taila Santos at the promotion’s final event of the year in Saudi Arabia.

Speaking with talkSPORT following her million-dollar victory, Ditcheva expressed some concern over potentially competing in next year’s tournament considering she’s already dispatched her toughest test.

“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” (h/t MMA Mania).

Dakota Ditcheva could face the same struggle that Kayla Harrison did in the PFL

If the story sounds familiar, that’s probably because two-time PFL champion Kayla Harrison faced a similar struggle during her time with the organization. Harrison ran roughshod over much of the competition, leading many to criticize her for kicking around a bunch of cans rather than taking on the toughest fighters available.

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Hopefully, they will refrain from subjecting Ditcheva to a similar fate by signing some fresh talent to the flyweight pool ahead of next year’s tournament because, as it stands, there’s not much for Ditcheva or her fans to be excited about in 2025.

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UFC Rankings Report: Max Holloway Gets Big LW Boost After Dana White’s Complaints

As always, the latest action on offer inside the UFC Octagon has been followed by the release of the updated rankings. And in the aftermath of UFC Fight Night: Anthony Hernandez vs. Michel Pereira, MMA News has you covered with this week’s updates to the official UFC rankings. Men’s Pound-For-Pound: No changes. Women’s Pound-for-Pound: The bad fortune has continued […]

Continue Reading UFC Rankings Report: Max Holloway Gets Big LW Boost After Dana White’s Complaints at MMA News.

As always, the latest action on offer inside the UFC Octagon has been followed by the release of the updated rankings.

And in the aftermath of UFC Fight Night: Anthony Hernandez vs. Michel Pereira, MMA News has you covered with this week’s updates to the official UFC rankings.

Men’s Pound-For-Pound: No changes.

Women’s Pound-for-Pound: The bad fortune has continued to come for Raquel Pennington. A few weeks on from losing the bantamweight title at UFC 307, “Rocky” has further fallen down the P4P ladder to #9, being usurped by a victor at that event in Kayla Harrison (#8).

Further down, Maycee Barber has entered at #15, replacing former strawweight title challenger Amanda Lemos.

Women’s Strawweight: There was just one change at 115 pounds, with the rising Iasmin Lucindo (#7) swapping places with her fellow countrywoman Amanda Lemos (#8).

Women’s Flyweight: No changes.

Women’s Bantamweight: No changes.

Flyweight: The biggest mover this week was Asu Almabayev, who has climbed a mammoth seven places to #7 after defeating Matheus Nicolau this past weekend. The defeated Brazilian, meanwhile, has dropped three spots to #10.

Further down, Charles Johnson’s latest victory this year has earned him the #15 spot. His entry has seen the removal of Matt Schnell, who announced his plans to retire earlier this year.

Bantamweight: Rob Font returned to winning ways at the expense of Kyler Phillips in Saturday’s co-headliner. As a result, the longtime contender has climbed one position to share #9 with Mario Bautista.

Featherweight: No changes.

Lightweight: Not long after UFC CEO Dana White used Max Holloway’s low spot in the 155-pound rankings as evidence that change is needed, “Blessed” has received a big boost. Ahead of his featherweight title challenge, the Hawaiian has risen by three places to #5 in the lightweight division.

That’s meant Dan Hooker’s stay in the top five was a brief one, with the New Zealander down to #6 after initially returning to the upper echelon of the weight class following a win over Mateusz Gamrot.

Welterweight: No changes.

Middleweight: Anthony Hernandez has received a small reward for his main event win over Michel Pereira on Oct. 19. He’s up one spot to #12, leaving Khamzat Chimaev a position worse off at #13.

Light Heavyweight: After being snubbed of the latest shot at champion Alex Pereira, Magomed Ankalaev has moved up one place to share the #1 rank in the division alongside former titleholder Ji?í Procházka.

Lower down the pecking order, Volkan Oezdemir has been relegated two spots to #8, providing small boosts for Nikita Krylov (#6) and recent title challenger Khalil Rountree (#7).

Heavyweight: No changes.

You can view the full updated UFC rankings here.

Continue Reading UFC Rankings Report: Max Holloway Gets Big LW Boost After Dana White’s Complaints at MMA News.

UFC Rankings Report: Max Holloway Gets Big LW Boost After Dana White’s Complaints

As always, the latest action on offer inside the UFC Octagon has been followed by the release of the updated rankings. And in the aftermath of UFC Fight Night: Anthony Hernandez vs. Michel Pereira, MMA News has you covered with this week’s updates to the official UFC rankings. Men’s Pound-For-Pound: No changes. Women’s Pound-for-Pound: The bad fortune has continued […]

Continue Reading UFC Rankings Report: Max Holloway Gets Big LW Boost After Dana White’s Complaints at MMA News.

As always, the latest action on offer inside the UFC Octagon has been followed by the release of the updated rankings.

And in the aftermath of UFC Fight Night: Anthony Hernandez vs. Michel Pereira, MMA News has you covered with this week’s updates to the official UFC rankings.

Men’s Pound-For-Pound: No changes.

Women’s Pound-for-Pound: The bad fortune has continued to come for Raquel Pennington. A few weeks on from losing the bantamweight title at UFC 307, “Rocky” has further fallen down the P4P ladder to #9, being usurped by a victor at that event in Kayla Harrison (#8).

Further down, Maycee Barber has entered at #15, replacing former strawweight title challenger Amanda Lemos.

Women’s Strawweight: There was just one change at 115 pounds, with the rising Iasmin Lucindo (#7) swapping places with her fellow countrywoman Amanda Lemos (#8).

Women’s Flyweight: No changes.

Women’s Bantamweight: No changes.

Flyweight: The biggest mover this week was Asu Almabayev, who has climbed a mammoth seven places to #7 after defeating Matheus Nicolau this past weekend. The defeated Brazilian, meanwhile, has dropped three spots to #10.

Further down, Charles Johnson’s latest victory this year has earned him the #15 spot. His entry has seen the removal of Matt Schnell, who announced his plans to retire earlier this year.

Bantamweight: Rob Font returned to winning ways at the expense of Kyler Phillips in Saturday’s co-headliner. As a result, the longtime contender has climbed one position to share #9 with Mario Bautista.

Featherweight: No changes.

Lightweight: Not long after UFC CEO Dana White used Max Holloway’s low spot in the 155-pound rankings as evidence that change is needed, “Blessed” has received a big boost. Ahead of his featherweight title challenge, the Hawaiian has risen by three places to #5 in the lightweight division.

That’s meant Dan Hooker’s stay in the top five was a brief one, with the New Zealander down to #6 after initially returning to the upper echelon of the weight class following a win over Mateusz Gamrot.

Welterweight: No changes.

Middleweight: Anthony Hernandez has received a small reward for his main event win over Michel Pereira on Oct. 19. He’s up one spot to #12, leaving Khamzat Chimaev a position worse off at #13.

Light Heavyweight: After being snubbed of the latest shot at champion Alex Pereira, Magomed Ankalaev has moved up one place to share the #1 rank in the division alongside former titleholder Ji?í Procházka.

Lower down the pecking order, Volkan Oezdemir has been relegated two spots to #8, providing small boosts for Nikita Krylov (#6) and recent title challenger Khalil Rountree (#7).

Heavyweight: No changes.

You can view the full updated UFC rankings here.

Continue Reading UFC Rankings Report: Max Holloway Gets Big LW Boost After Dana White’s Complaints at MMA News.