Hot prospect Dakota Ditcheva punched her way into the PFL Europe women’s flyweight tournament final in Paris, France on Saturday, shutting down Cornelia Holm.
At 8-0 to start the night, the undefeated Ditcheva had been the favorite to go all the way in the freshly launched European league since it launched earlier this year. A title, and $100,000 in prize money, awaits the tournament champ. And coming out of Saturday’s PFL Paris, she remains the favorite to win it all.
With Valentina Scatizzi earning a walkover win after opponent Manuela Marconetto missed weight on Friday, one half of the final was already set. It took the better part of three rounds, but Ditcheva joined her soon enough.
Underdog Holm got straight to work and landed a takedown off the opening bell on Saturday, but Dakota was not content to work off her back and quickly scrambled to her feet. Holm stayed on her opponent, with Ditcheva employing a wide base, defending with a whizzer and doing everything she could to stay off her back. Jostling for head position and hand fighting kept the fighters occupied, with Holm occasionally firing a knee.
In the final 90 seconds of round one, Ditcheva came off the fence, keeping Holm in the clinch and firing knees. At least three appeared to hit the mark, though perhaps only partially, as Holm then pushed Ditcheva to the other side of the cage.
Having effectively instituted her game plan in the opening round, Holm opened the second with a kick, but soon found herself under fire, a Ditcheva right hand connecting. Holm caught a kick, threatening to dump her opponent, but Ditcheva stayed upright. Another takedown attempt just over a minute in brought out the boo birds in the crowd; Holm stayed on the attempt as Ditcheva fought hands leading to a stalemate. A slowdown the ref didn’t have patience for, as he restarted the action at center.
At range, Ditcheva showed some stance switches, leading with lefts and rights at various times. Holm answered with a desperation takedown, and gave up position doing so. Ditcheva soon found herself on top, in half guard, landing a bit of ground n’ pound. Holm would eventually escape, and drive into another takedown attempt, straight into a Ditcheva guillotine. No luck on the choke, however, and Ditcheva was left defending yet another takedown attempt, which she did successfully, while landing punches to the ribs of Cornelia Holm.
In the third round, Ditcheva put the fight away in violent, sudden fashion about halfway through the frame. She connected clean to the liver, and Holm dropped, body locking up. As she moved, a left hand connected flush to the jaw, and down went Holm, put away for good. A follow-up head kick just missed, thankfully given Holm was already done, and unable to get up or even move for a minute.
The finish came as no surprise to Dakota Ditcheva. “I drop my brother with it all the time as well, I’m not surprised she went down to be honest,” she exclaimed. As for Cornelia Holm, Ditcheva was no fan of her grinding approach to the bout. “She’s boring! You want to see a fight, right?”
Official Result: Dakota Ditcheva def. Cornelia Holm by TKO (punches), Round 3, 2:55
