2024 PFL women’s flyweight champ Dakota Ditcheva is the latest to complain about matchmaking delays in the league.
Dakota Ditcheva is arguably the face of the PFL after the league lost top names like Kayla Harrison, Patricio ‘Pitbull’, and most recently, Aaron Pico. But four months into 2025, the PFL star remains without a clear timeline for her return to the SmartCage.
Ditcheva captured the 2024 women’s flyweight championship by knocking out former UFC title challenger Taila Santos in November. She capped off a four-fight run in 2024 with a $1 million grand prize and a belt to add to her unbeaten resume.
Ditcheva was surprisingly left out of the 2025 World Tournament, potentially to save her for a big-name matchup on one of the PFL’s targeted pay-per-view events. But most of the biggest female names in the PFL are preoccupied with the World Tournament format, further delaying Ditcheva’s return to the cage.
Dakota Ditcheva is the latest PFL star to express concerns about return uncertainty
Ditcheva is one of several marquee names to publicly question the PFL matchmakers for their inactivity. Johnny Eblen, Corey Anderson, and others have taken to social media to express their displeasure.
During a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Ditcheva opened up on how she’s handling one of the longest hiatuses of her career.
“I’ve always been a really active fighter, so this for me now, especially not having anything even lined up, is really mentally challenging for me,” Ditcheva said. “I really have to just believe in the process…it’s a test for sure, that’s probably why I went home because at the start of the year I was in Florida training, nothing lined up, seeing everybody train for this tournament and it was really disheartening for me…
“I’m gutted I don’t have anything just yet…haven’t heard about any shows, my management is in contact with them all the time…so I’m just waiting and being patient.”
Ditcheva’s inactivity in 2025 is in stark contrast to her 2024 run, with four fights in seven months. Three of her four victories last year were finished in the first round.
Ditcheva has repeatedly teased a future move to the UFC, adding to questions regarding the PFL’s lack of urgency to book her a fight. When her current PFL contract comes to a close, she’ll likely be a top target on the free agent market.
PFL head sent Kayla Harrison a classy message ahead of UFC 316 title fight
One of the PFL’s former superstars, Harrison, will compete for the UFC women’s bantamweight title at UFC 316 in June. After a 2-0 run in her UFC tenure, Harrison has emerged as one of the biggest female talents on the current UFC roster.
After Harrison left the PFL last year, PFL co-founder Donn Davis didn’t take her split from the promotion well. Davis lambasted Harrison for leaving the PFL without matchups with the likes of Cris Cyborg and Larissa Pacheco.
But Davis has changed his tune in recent weeks, sending Harrison a classy message on social media ahead of the latter’s title fight. Harrison and Julianna Pena will clash in the co-main event at UFC 316.
If the PFL wants to avoid a similar fate with Ditcheva, they’ll need to book her a fight sooner rather than later, or else the UK star’s future free agency could be a messy one.
