Fighter of the Year 2024: Female
Eddie Law: Dakota Ditcheva. It would have been easy to make a case for Kayla Harrison if you brought in the outside noise of jumping from PFL to UFC. But Ditcheva has made her case in the cage. Four fights, four finishes, a title victory to top it off, and becoming the new face of the PFL all in 2024. Long live Queen Ditcheva.
Jay Anderson: Had Kayla Harrison fought for and won a title this year, I would have gone with her. Her UFC run has gone exactly according to plan thus far. However, Dakota Ditcheva takes the prize for 2024 in my eyes. After winning the PFL Europe tournament in 2023, she picked up four wins in 2024 the secure a PFL Global title and the million dollars in prize money. And despite criticism of favoritism by the PFL, she still had to go through Taila Santos in the final, finishing the former UFC title challenger who took Valentina Shevchenko to the limit. This was a breakout year for Ditcheva; she’s now a bonafide star. Let’s see if the PFL can hang onto her longer than they did Harrison.
Gabriel Gonzalez: Kayla Harrison. The fact that Harrison fought multiple times in 2024 gives her the nod by a small margin. She dominated a proven bantamweight in Holly Holm and overcame the challenge of a perennially ranked contender in Ketlen Vieira. The fact that she delivered both times by making the strenuous cut (for her) to 135 pounds is no small feat and it set up an anticipated fight for the belt in 2025.
Bryson Hester: Dakota Ditcheva. Dakota is the very clear pick for the women’s fighter of the year. Dakota racked up four victories in the calendar year all stoppages. Ditcheva stopped Lisa Mauldin, Chelsea Hackett and Jena Bishop all in the first round to advance to 2024 PFL championship. In the championship, Dakota became the first fighter to stop Taila Santos and became both the youngest champion in PFL history (26) and the first British Female MMA world champ.
Patrick McCorry: Kayla Harrison. Deserves the next title shot, two fights against good competition.
Cade Morehouse: My female fighter of the year is Dakota Ditcheva. This is someone who is clearly not a prospect anymore after what she accomplished this year in the PFL season format and playoffs. She managed to finish the likes of Mauldin, Hackett, Bishop and Santos to become the tournament winner. All of her wins were in exciting knockout fashion and I truly believe she deserves the credit and recognition as female fighter of the year.
Brett Cagle: Dakota Ditcheva. The PFL has a star on their hands in Dakota Ditcheva. The European striking sensation captured her first PFL world championship after finishing former UFC title challenger Talia Santos in November. Throughout the year Ditcheva faced stylistic matchups that some thought would bring her problems like BJJ World Champion Jena Bishop, but no one was on her level. Ditcheva fights with a mean streak that is rarely seen and sets her apart. This combination of skill and mental toughness propelled Ditcheva to a world championship, making her one of the most promising fighters in the sport.
Mathis Desjardins: Dakota Ditcheva ran through the competition in this year’s PFL season. She dispatched all four of her opponents in a combined 20 minutes and 51 seconds, for an average fight time of 5 minutes and 13 seconds. Valentina Shevchenko arguably lost to Taila Santos, Erin Blanchfield had to dig deep to scrape a win against her, but Ditcheva ran her over like a hot knife through butter. No one in the women’s game made more noise than Ditcheva in 2024.
End result: Dakota Ditcheva takes the prize as our Female Fighter of the Year. There was little argument, despite Kayla Harrison, another PFL product (now with the UFC) having a very good campaign. Ditcheva, however, won four fights, her first PFL Global title, a million dollars, and arrived on a big stage. It’s hard to argue with that level of success.
