Yahoo Sports Dakota Ditcheva hopes PFL brings her 'a bigger challenge' in 2025
Dakota Ditcheva wants to be tested after destroying the competition en route to the 2024 PFL women's flyweight title.
Ditcheva (14-0) cleaned up in the promotion's inaugural women's 125-pound season. She stopped Lisa Mauldin, Chelsea Hackett and Jena Bishop in Round 1 to reach the finals, where she brutalized former UFC title challenger Taila Santos to win the $1 million prize.
There were questions about how good the 29-year-old from England truly was after an undefeated career start against largely unproven competition. She answered many of those questions with the performance against Santos, and Ditcheva said she can feel the sentiment toward her starting to change.
"I knew who I was up against and it was a very exciting matchup for me," Ditcheva told MMA Junkie Radio. "It was obviously a big moment for me to fight somebody like Santos, and I feel like I went into it with the right mindset, unlike her. I feel like she underestimated me a lot, for sure. She just thought I was a barbie. I don't think she took me serious at all. It's a massive win for me.
"I feel like I've gained a lot of respect from people now, which is nice. I'm not asking people to be singing and dancing, but people are definitely taking me seriously as a fighter now, which is nice to see."
With Ditcheva's stock climbing in a significant way, PFL will have to decide how to best use her in 2025. The promotion has not clarified whether it intends to run another season in her weight class, or whether she could move to its Super Fight PPV series.
Ditcheva said she's open to all paths forward, so long as it feels like a level up. She doesn't want to face recycled names in a season format, and hopes PFL can bring something fresh to the table.
"If you put me in another season again, another tournament, that's going to be where my head goes and I'll be back on the track of, 'I've got to win this tournament,'" Ditcheva said. "But, I feel like you've got to give me something that's going to mentally push me. I don't want to be fighting the same people. Realistically I don't feel like that would be a good thing for them to do. It's got to be like someone better, a bigger challenge.
Related
Video: Is Dakota Ditcheva world's top women's flyweight after dominant 2024 PFL title run?
Dakota Ditcheva def. Taila Santos at 2024 PFL Championship: Best photos
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Dakota Ditcheva hopes PFL brings her 'a bigger challenge' in 2025
