Dakota Ditcheva hopes PFL brings her ‘a bigger challenge’ in 2025

Dakota Ditcheva needs to be examined after destroying the competitors en path to the 2024 PFL ladies’s flyweight title.

Ditcheva (14-0) cleaned up within the promotion’s inaugural ladies’s 125-pound season. She stopped Lisa Mauldin, Chelsea Hackett and Jena Bishop in Spherical 1 to succeed in the finals, the place she brutalized former UFC title challenger Taila Santos to win the $1 million prize.

There have been questions on how good the 29-year-old from England actually was after an undefeated profession begin in opposition to largely unproven competitors. She answered lots of these questions with the efficiency in opposition to Santos, and Ditcheva stated she will really feel the sentiment towards her beginning to change.

“I knew who I used to be up in opposition to and it was a really thrilling matchup for me,” Ditcheva instructed MMA Junkie Radio. “It was clearly an enormous second for me to struggle someone like Santos, and I really feel like I went into it with the best mindset, in contrast to her. I really feel like she underestimated me lots, for certain. She simply thought I used to be a barbie. I don’t suppose she took me severe in any respect. It’s an enormous win for me.

“I really feel like I’ve gained lots of respect from individuals now, which is sweet. I’m not asking individuals to be singing and dancing, however persons are undoubtedly taking me severely as a fighter now, which is sweet to see.”

With Ditcheva’s inventory climbing in a big means, PFL should resolve the right way to greatest use her in 2025. The promotion has not clarified whether or not it intends to run one other season in her weight class, or whether or not she may transfer to its Tremendous Battle PPV collection.

Ditcheva stated she’s open to all paths ahead, as long as it seems like a stage up. She doesn’t need to face recycled names in a season format, and hopes PFL can convey one thing contemporary to the desk.

“When you put me in one other season once more, one other event, that’s going to be the place my head goes and I’ll be again on the observe of, ‘I’ve received to win this event,’” Ditcheva stated. “However, I really feel such as you’ve received to present me one thing that’s going to mentally push me. I don’t need to be preventing the identical individuals. Realistically I don’t really feel like that may be a very good factor for them to do. It’s received to be like somebody higher, a much bigger problem.