Dakota Ditcheva ready to make “massive statement” at PFL World Championship
Dakota Ditcheva says she’s ready to make a “massive statement” on Friday night when she faces Taila Santos for the PFL Women’s Flyweight Championship in Riyadh and hopes an impressive performance can help inspire more women to pursue MMA.
Ditcheva, one of the most exciting talents in global mixed martial arts, puts her 13-0 unbeaten record on the line against the experienced Santos (22-3) when they meet in the co-main event of an extraordinary PFL World Championship event at King Saud University.
A total of six world title fights will take place on Friday to conclude a thrilling 2024 PFL season, headlined by the Featherweight Championship bout between 2022 champion Brendan Loughnane (30-5) and unbeaten Timur Khizriev (17-0). Each winner will walk away with the belts and $1 million in prize money.
Ditcheva has been making major waves since swapping a World Championship-winning Muay Thai career for MMA in 2021. Her enormous potential was spotted by the Professional Fighters League (PFL) and she was signed in 2022 after five victorious MMA bouts.
Since clinching the PFL Europe Women’s Flyweight title in 2023, the English-Bulgarian fighter has made the step up to world level look easy, claiming two regular season wins and a semi-final victory in 2024 – all by first-round stoppage.
Now she faces the toughest challenge of her career against experienced Brazilian Santos, who has also impressed since joining the PFL with three straight wins this season.
On what a win over Santos would mean, Ditcheva said: “A massive statement, I feel like. I don’t know whether it will still gain the respect of the people on the internet but that’s not something I’m worried about.
“Beating Taila would be massive; she’s someone I used to watch in the UFC and someone I have a lot of respect for so I’m just excited to put on an amazing fight. It seems to be a fight that’s got everyone excited, so I’m hoping we can both bring it on the night and put on a great performance.”
Ditcheva’s bout against Santos represents another significant moment for women’s MMA as the second professional bout to be staged in Saudi Arabia. It comes nine months after boxing superstar Claressa Shields fought Kelsey DeSantis in the PFL vs Bellator event in Riyadh in the first professional women’s MMA fight in the Kingdom.
On the importance of showcasing women’s MMA in Saudi Arabia, Ditcheva added: “Being a female over here in Riyadh, it can motivate a lot of other women probably and being one of the first ones to come over and show you can still fight, you can perform in such an amazing country, it’s just nice and hopefully motivating for other women.”
Among the showcase bouts on the night is one featuring Hattan Alsaif, a rising MMA talent from Saudi Arabia who aspires to follow in Ditcheva’s footsteps towards becoming a global PFL fighter. Alsaif’s goal is to reach the global stage, and her inclusion in the event highlights the growing opportunities for women in the region to compete at the highest levels of the sport.
Ditcheva has been enjoying her time in Saudi Arabia in the lead-up to fight night, taking in the many sights of Riyadh, which has included attending a Saudi Pro League match to watch Al Nassr and their superstar captain Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ditcheva added: “Everyone knows I’m a big football fan and my brother is a massive Ronaldo fan as I’m sure everyone is! It was just amazing that I was able to go and experience that.
“That’s what I love about this sport; it takes you all over the world, you get to experience different sports, meet different people. It’s probably not something I would have had without this sport, so I feel very lucky that I get to do that.”
The 26-year-old will be well supported on Friday night and will have her family by her side, including her mother Lisa Howarth, who was a world champion kickboxer and is a lifelong inspiration for the MMA star.
Asked if she was motivated to continue her mother’s legacy as a combat sports world champion, Ditcheva said: “Definitely, there’s also a little bit of a pressure as well, but that’s something I put on myself. Everyone knew my mum as a world champion and she was an amazing fighter, so for me, I just want to keep that up as her daughter.
“But at the same time, I am on my own journey and I’m in a completely different martial art now. So it’s about being myself but at the same time carrying my mum with me and that’s something I want to do for the rest of my career.”
Prior to the six world championship bouts, PFL MENA will take centre-stage with five bouts featuring Arab fighters. Kicking off the stacked show will be five showcase fights: three global bouts and two MENA bouts.
Four PFL MENA champions will also be crowned in the Welterweight, Lightweight, Featherweight, and Bantamweight divisions. PFL MENA is creating a pathway for athletes from the region to compete in the PFL Global Season.
The championship bouts, for both the Global Season and PFL MENA, will be five, five-minute rounds, and for the first time in the history of the PFL Championships, the rule set will now allow elbows.
Brendan Loughnane (Career: 30-5, PFL 2024 Season: 3-0) fights Timur Khizriev (Career: 17-0, PFL 2024 Season: 3-0) for the PFL Featherweight World Championship in the Main Event.
Loughnane on being ready for fight night: “All the prep’s down now, it’s just a case of getting the weight off, getting on the scales, and get ready for fighting.”
Loughnane on the challenge of facing unbeaten Khizriev: “I fought many undefeated fighters in the past, nothing new to me. I have more TKOs than he has wins so on Friday night, you’ll see the best version of me and another belt over the shoulder.”
Loughnane on the rise of the PFL since joining the promotion in 2019: “It’s been incredible. When I first signed, I had to Google it, and now, the likes of Francis [Ngannou] and Jake [Paul] and all these acquisitions – Pete and Don and all the guys behind the scenes have done a great job clearly.”
Loughnane on Saudi Arabia’s investment in the PFL and MMA: “It’s a great partnership and we’ve seen yesterday [at Mahd Academy] the levels they’re going to over here to improve sport at grassroots level. It’s great to be a part of it.”
Loughnane on his support back home in the UK: “It’s great, and finally on at a good time! Everyone can finally watch it. I’ve been fighting at 3, 4, 5am and now I’m fighting at a reasonable hour for the English public.”
Impa Kasanganay (Career: 18-4, PFL 2024 Season: 3-0) defends his light-heavyweight world title against Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov (Career: 24-7-1, PFL 2024 Season: 3-0)
Kasanganay on how the experience of winning the title in 2023 will help his title defence: “Claiming the victory in 2023, I believed it, I just need to put the work in. I’ve seen myself here before. I know how to operate during fight week. I’ve seen myself here, prepared for it. Weaponised discipline: from the second I wake up until I go to sleep, from the days that passed to the challenging moments in camp, I know I’ve been preparing for this.”
Kasanganay on the challenge of facing Yagshimuradov: “I’m fighting an excellent opponent in Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov. He’s crafty, whether it’s striking or grappling, how he puts it all together, the pace he pushes, the intelligence, where he comes from, who he’s trained with and been in the same gym. I really respect my opponents and thoroughly study them. I’m putting myself in positions that really feed the faith. Marvin Hagler said it, feed the faith, starve the doubt. I believe the only way to do that is put yourself in uncomfortable situations.”
Kasanganay on going from sleeping in his car to becoming a PFL world champion: “When I was sleeping in my car, I said to myself that I may not be in the form, but I knew I was a champion; champion then, champion during, and champion after. I knew then that the situation was challenging but what was to come would be so much better. Someone always has it harder; kids getting bombed left and right, homeless people, some people are sick or have lost their parents – your hard is only relative to your life and maybe you can be an inspiration, but that’s why I get to use this platform. I knew that all I was going through would only catapult me to where I was going to next and here we are in Riyadh this time a much more refined version and I know more about who I am and I get to show that on Friday.”
Friday, November 29:
PFL World Championship:
Featherweight World Title: Brendan Loughnane (29-5) vs. Timur Khizriev (17-0)
Women’s Flyweight World Title: Dakota Ditcheva (13-0) vs. Taila Santos (22-3)
Light Heavyweight World Title: Impa Kasanganay (18-4) vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov (24-7-1)
Welterweight World Title: Magomed Umalatov (17-0) vs. Shamil Musaev (19-0-1)
Lightweight World Title: Brent Primus (15-3) vs. Gadzhi Rabadanov (23-4-2)
Heavyweight World Title: Denis Goltsov (35-8) vs. Oleg Popov (19-1)
PFL MENA Championships:
Featherweight MENA Title: Abdelrahman Alhyasat (5-0) vs. Abdullah Al-Qahtani (9-2)
Welterweight MENA Title: Mohammad Alaqraa (7-0) vs. Omar El Dafrawy (12-6)
Amateur Women’s Atomweight: Hattan Alsaif vs. Lilia Osmani
Bantamweight MENA Title: Ali Taleb (11-1) vs. Rachid El Hazoume (15-3)
Lightweight MENA Title: Mohsen Mohammadseifi (6-1) vs. Georges Eid (10-4)
Showcase Fights:
Lightweight: Mansour Barnaoui (21-6) vs. Alfie Davis (17-4-1)
Heavyweight: Slim Trabelsi (7-0) vs. Abraham Bably (5-0)
Featherweight: Jesus Pinedo (23-6-1) vs. Jeremy Kennedy (19-4)
Featherweight: Asael Adjoudj (8-1) vs. Jose Perez (9-1)
Middleweight: Costello van Steenis (15-3) vs. Joao Dantas (7-1)
