Dakota Ditcheva faced the toughest test of her career and passed with flying colors.
The highly touted flyweight prospect graduated to become a champion on Friday with a one-sided beatdown of former UFC title contender Taila Santos in the 2024 PFL World Championships co-main event.
It was a dominant showcase for Ditcheva as she brutalized Santos with heavy leg kicks early and then battered her to the body with knees before going up top with several stiff elbows to the face. It was actually an elbow followed by a nasty left to the body that folded Santos with Ditcheva delivering a couple more shots as the referee swooped in to stop the fight.
Dakota Ditcheva does it! She wins the 2024 PFL women's flyweight championship with a second-round TKO over Taila Santos at the #PFLWorldChampionships card in Riyadh! pic.twitter.com/R0KblGPHik
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) November 29, 2024
The end came at 4:41 in Round 2.
“She’s a tough girl but I knew what I was capable of,” Ditcheva said afterwards. “She’s been saying ‘she’s just a Barbie, she should be a model. Well, a model just beat your ass in Round 2, so shut up.”
Ditcheva certainly earned the right to talk smack after her performance proved she’s an elite flyweight while taking out a former UFC title challenger without breaking a sweat.
From the start of the fight, Ditcheva showed no fear going after Santos and despite the Brazilian’s best attempts to slow her down with wrestling, nothing seemed to work.
By the time the action moved into the second round, Ditcheva was just picking and choosing her shots as she systematically dismantled Santos before moving in for the kill shot. With barrage that ended the fight was Ditcheva’s fourth straight win in 2024 — all by knockout with Santos as the only opponent to make it to the second round.
Ditcheva’s ascension certainly gives PFL a massive star to promote heading into 2025 and now it’s up to the organization to find her worthwhile competition moving forward.
