Dakota Ditcheva ponders future in PFL tournament or Superfight: 'Is anyone gonna watch the season without me in it?'

Dakota Ditcheva is unsure what lies ahead after winning the PFL women’s flyweight championship.

At 2024 PFL Championship, Ditcheva (14-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) picked former UFC title challenger Taila Santos apart to win the title and a $1 million prize. On paper, Santos (22-4) was the toughest challenge for Ditcheva of her career, but she shined in a fantastic performance that resulted in a second-round stoppage.

“That’s the first person that I feel like I’ve looked up to and watched in the UFC, and now I’ve just fought,” Ditcheva told talkSPORT MMA in a post-fight interview. “For me, it’s a very big moment. I actually feel like – I was sat just talking to myself before the fight, and I was like, this doesn’t even feel like crazy pressure that I’m fighting for $1 million or a world title. It feels like I’m going in there to beat Santos. … It was a really strange mentality that I had, but I feel like that’s maybe what helped me.”

The undefeated Ditcheva has now won two tournaments in the PFL: the 2023 PFL Europe championship and the 2024 PFL championship. She’s confident her skills are a level above the competition in the tournament format, and wonders if it’s time to compete in the PFL’s Superfight series.

“I don’t know, we haven’t spoke about it too much with PFL,” Ditcheva said. “I think it’s difficult because for me, I just beat the top girl that there 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 gonna watch the season without me in it? I don’t know. We’ll see what happens.”