Dakota Ditcheva may have fought only once since her breakout year in 2024, but that hasn’t stopped PFL’s golden girl from being targeted by a fellow promotional star. After Cris Cyborg stopped Sara Collins with a third-round rear-naked choke victory in December at PFL Lyon, the 40-year-old legendary featherweight champion made a shocking callout of Ditcheva, who fights two divisions lower than her.
Ditcheva, 27, has been relatively silent on the callout since PFL Lyon. Speaking Tuesday on Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show,” Ditcheva expressed her happiness at the honor of having Cyborg mention her name that way, but acknowledged the fight just isn’t that logical, with all factors considered.
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“If Cyborg could make 135 [pounds] and they give me a bit of time — she had a bit more time, you know,” Ditcheva said. “She’s saying it’s her last fight. I haven’t got time to put that much weight on. I’m not a big 125er. I don’t have a tough weight cut at all. So for me, I’d have to strength up big, but I would have done it if she was even close to 135 and you paid me some big money — hell yeah, I’ll get in. But it just didn’t make any sense at all.
“[Featherweight contender] Leah McCourt’s been asking for [the Cyborg fight] for so, so long. Why are you shouting me out? Leah wants that fight. Give it to her.”
Though Ditcheva’s mention of perennial contender McCourt isn’t unfounded, there’s no debate around what the bigger matchup is for Cyborg — especially for a big farewell bout. Having not fought since her loss to Collins in September 2024, McCourt would likely be seen as a sizable underdog to Cyborg.
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But Ditcheva has plenty of options and understands her value after accruing an undefeated PFL record and barnstorming her way to winning Uncrowned’s 2024 Women’s Fighter of the Year award.
“Respectfully, she’s not giving the fight. I am,” Ditcheva said. “I 100% would be the one who sells that fight more. It would be a superfight, but she’s calling me out like she’s picking me. She needs me — she’s not picking anyone else. Leah’s been asking for it for ages; she’s not picking Leah out.
”It’s a superfight for sure, but you kind of need me to make it big. Obviously it makes sense on her part. I’m not calling out no 105 [pound] atomweight person. It doesn’t make sense. But anyway, that’s why I didn’t entertain it. I don’t like feeding into people just using my name all the time.”
Shortly after Ditcheva’s comments Tuesday, Cyborg responded on social media, stating that she could make 135 pounds for a potential superfight in the fall and arguing that it’s “the biggest fight the PFL can make.”
Throughout her career, Ditcheva has been a finishing machine, with only two decisions to her name. That alone makes the matchup with Cyborg a fun concept on-paper, though it remains to be seen whether the weight difference becomes too much of a factor to overcome.
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Regarding obstacles to big-time matchups, Ditcheva has others in front of her as well, such as the pesky promotional lines between the PFL and UFC. With Ditcheva widely considered to be one of the best flyweights on Earth, a bout between her and Uncrowned’s 2025 Fighter of the Year — UFC champion Valentina Shevchenko — has become a true fantasy fight, especially with the latter remaining as dominant as ever.
Ditcheva has always been a fan of Shevchenko’s, going as far as to label her the greatest of all time. But after Shevchenko’s latest triumph over former UFC strawweight champ Zhang Weili, Shevchenko drew ample criticism within the MMA community for a fighting style many classified as “boring.”
From Ditcheva’s perspective, she can see it both ways.
“Maybe a little bit. She wants to go out on top,” Ditcheva said. “Has anyone ever done what she’s done? She’s completed all the rubies on the [UFC] belt plus more. She’s at the top. The age of her and the way she’s kind of fighting at the moment is just incredible anyway. I suppose people want that killer in them, don’t they? They don’t want people to lose it, but when there’s money on the line, people change.
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“I hope one day I don’t do that. I feel like the switch in me that I have would never kind of play it safe. I would just always be that person that kind of goes forward. But then again, when you’re someone like Valentina, and you’ve got that much of a legacy, you don’t want to go out without being on top, right?”
Before Ditcheva can return to action, she’ll have to heal from a broken hand she suffered that forced the cancellation of her return bout at PFL Dubai in February. Ditcheva ideally hopes to return around April or May, when she can kick-start a run through the year that has at least two or three fights.
Despite being almost unanimously viewed as the best in the promotion at flyweight, Ditcheva still isn’t the PFL flyweight champion. As long as she’s knocking down all comers, Ditcheva couldn’t care less.
“I feel like if I win a belt, who’s that impressing?” Ditcheva said. “Everyone’s still going to think the same [of my standing in the division]. So as long as I just keep beating these girls, forget the belt. I just need to keep winning and just proving that I am the best 125er, and that’s all I can keep doing.”
