Dakota Ditcheva Anticipates $1 Million Women's PFL Flyweight Season in 2024

14 January 2024

After securing the PFL Europe women's flyweight title with a first-round TKO victory over Valentina Scatizzi at PFL Europe 4 in December, Dakota Ditcheva (9-0) is setting her sights on a promising future with the Professional Fighters League (PFL). The 25-year-old fighter expressed her hope that the organization will deliver on its plans for a $1 million women's flyweight season in 2024.

Ditcheva revealed that she initially received a message from the promotion at the beginning of 2023, outlining its intention to run a 125-pound tournament under its primary banner. However, with the recent acquisition of Bellator, the future direction of the company has become uncertain. Despite the uncertainties, Ditcheva remains optimistic and is confident that the assurances given to her will still be honored.

Speaking to MMA Junkie Radio, Ditcheva shared, “To be honest, I haven’t heard too much – I’m waiting. I saw the manager today, and he said they’re coming back to him early next week, so I’ll know more then. Things that have been floated in the air, when I signed, I signed to do the European championship, then the next year they were going to run the worlds, which would be a new category because they don’t have (women’s flyweight) yet."

She continued, "With the signing of Bellator and taking over that and plans to go to Saudi Arabia as well – a lot of things have changed with PFL now. They’ve got so many things going on they are just reevaluating things and seeing what’s going on and seeing what they are going to do. I don’t know if they are going to do a flyweight tournament for the worlds or not.”

Ditcheva is not only focused on the potential financial rewards of a million-dollar season but is primarily eager for a chance to stay active and consistently build her resume. Influenced by her mother, who was also a fighter, Ditcheva aims to extend her undefeated run and follow in the footsteps of MMA greats who successfully transitioned from striking backgrounds to excel in the cage.

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“As for fighters that have inspired me, Joanna Jedrzejczyk and (Valentina) Shevchenko are two females I’ve kind of watched and watched their careers and the way they’ve been successful, just because they started out in striking just like I did,” Ditcheva said. “I watched them when I did Thai boxing and then transitioned to how well they did in MMA. It was kind of something I kind of carried on following. Those are two in particular that inspired me to make that transition. I felt like I could do the same thing.”