Dakota Ditcheva recently talked to USA Today’s MMA Junkie about the possibilities of a fight vs. Cris Cyborg. <\/p>\n
Dakota Ditcheva <\/a>(15-0 MMA, 10-0 PFL<\/a>) still has yet to make the first walk to the promotion’s SmartCage<\/a> in 2026. Last summer, she recorded her 15th consecutive victory as a professional with a unanimous decision victory over Sumiko Inaba (8-3 MMA, 1-2 PFL) in Cape Town, South Africa.<\/p>\n After that, she was slated to return to competition on the night of Feb. 7. Denise Kielholtze (9-5 MMA, 1-0 PFL) was to have served as Dakota Ditcheva’s adversary for this planned women’s flyweight contest during PFL Dubai.\u00a0<\/p>\n Prior to the contest taking place, however, Ditcheva was forced out of action due to sustaining a broken hand while in training camp for the bout in Dubai. In Ditcheva’s stead that February weekend, Kielholtze was booked to fight Antonia Silvaneide (9-5 MMA, 0-1 PFL) at a contracted catchweight of 127 lbs after the latter weighed in one pound over the 126-lb nontitle maximum the day before. Kielholtze emerged victorious by unanimous decision.<\/p>\n Dakota Ditcheva Preparing for Nontitle Fight in July<\/p>\n Dakota Ditcheva and Denise Kielholtze are slated to do what they couldn’t do in February this summer. On July 31, the PFL SmartCage touches down in Long Island for PFL New York.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Ditcheva vs. Kielholtze pairing has been rescheduled for the Long Island event<\/a> as a three-round contest at five minutes per round, serving as the co-main event of the evening inside UBS Arena in Belmont Park, NY. Recently, Ditcheva spoke with USA Today’s MMA Junkie on the upcoming women’s flyweight showcase and why it’s not for a championship.<\/p>\n “I don’t know why this isn’t a title fight,” Dakota Ditcheva began. “Obviously, Liz Carmouche won the tournament in 2025, so we’re both tournament winners. I think everyone kind of wanted to see me and Liz face each other. Denise obviously sat out, she had a baby. I was supposed to fight her in February. Maybe if I’d fought her in February, I would have been one side of the title.”<\/p>\n Dakota Ditcheva Clears Air on Absense From PFL World Tournament<\/p>\n In 2025, the PFL abandoned its classic format of a regular season and playoffs leading up to a championship card in favor of a World Tournament <\/a>schedule. When the roster of competitors was announced for the 2025 PFL World Tournament in January of last year, Dakota Ditcheva’s name was absent from the list.<\/p>\n Ditcheva, who claimed the PFL Women’s Flyweight Championship in 2024, took time out to explain why she didn’t appear in the World Tournament a year ago.<\/p>\n “I didn’t choose not to do it,” she said. “They didn’t enter me in it. I wanted to do it. That wasn’t a choice of mine, they just didn’t put me in for the tournament. They ran it without me.”<\/p>\n Dakota Ditcheva on Fight with Cris Cyborg<\/p>\n