Elmont, NY — Flyweight star Dakota Ditcheva wants to get back to work “straight away,” and won’t be waiting until the PFL becomes MVP if she can help it.
After a year out of action, Ditcheva (16-0) returned to the cage at Friday’s PFL New York in Long Island, defeating former Bellator title challenger Denise Kielholtz in a three-round decision. Most expect a title shot next for Ditcheva, given the belt sits vacant, but what that title looks like is the question: the PFL is set to merge into MVP (Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions), but there are still several PFL-branded events to play out.
Speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press following PFL New York, Ditcheva gave her reaction to the merger, which she did not have advanced knowledge of. “I don’t know. I don’t really understand the merger, really. MVP is great, what Jake Paul does is amazing, what he does is amazing. I’m not really sure what it looks like for me yet, I haven’t spoken to anyone because obviously I was just concentrating on my fight this week.”
“I didn’t know one single thing about it until it got released on the internet. So I don’t know, I haven’t really got any comments on it yet. I’m hoping it’s a good thing for the fighters, and that’s all I can say right now.”
She’s not interested in waiting for the inaugural MVP card (or second, if you count the Rousey-Carano event on Netflix this past May). “No I’ll take another fight. I’m not really bothered by what it’s under, as long as I’m fighting the best. And then yeah. It’s whoever’s got the belt type thing.”
The belt isn’t held by anyone right now, though most expect Ditcheva to be fighting Liz Carmouche for it later this year. Ditcheva didn’t have any message for the former Bellator champ backstage, nor did she have anything to say about what’s next in the cage after her victory on Friday— because she wasn’t given a post-fight interview. The snub was immediately noticed by media members and fans online, and Ditcheva made clear it wasn’t her decision to avoid the mic. “I didn’t refuse it,” she said, pointing to it being the PFL’s decision, whether it was a broadcast issue or something else.
It may in part have been based on crowd reaction to Dakota Ditcheva’s return. With her fight with Kielholtz going the distance, fans grew restless in the third round. The boo birds came out. And Ditcheva heard them.
“It bothered me, only because I’m passionate about the work I do, and I wanted a stoppage myself,” Ditcheva admitted, before falling back on words her brother and coach told her. “We don’t care what everybody else thinks.”
“It’s me that’s in there fighting. I’m the one that’s in there,” she noted, adding that “to think about the boos for one second” could result in her getting knocked out.
“I don’t want them to boo because I want to be exciting and entertaining for you guys. At the same time, I’m in there fighting. I’m not in there performing a dance. I have to do what’s right for me to get the win and come out on top, and that’s what I did today.”
Watch the full PFL New York post-fight press conference with Dakota Ditcheva above.
