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 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.”
For all the latest PFL news and notes click here.
