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Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff Writer
Dakota Ditcheva had more than her fair share of haters over the course of the 2024 PFL season — and she left them all unsatisfied in the tournament finals.
Ditcheva (14-0) claimed PFL’s 125-pound women’s championship Friday by finishing Taila Santos (22-4) via TKO in the second round in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ditcheva, 26, went into the 2024 season as a relatively unproven prospect, prompting many of the other flyweights to predict a rude awakening for her against the top competition. She proved them wrong by going 4-0 on the year, with four knockouts.
“I’ve been trying to tell you,” Ditcheva said. “Maybe [they’ll believe me now], but I’m sure they’ll still be moaning about me. I’ll just keep proving them wrong. [Santos] is a tough girl, but I knew what I was capable of. My team knew what I was capable of. She’s been saying, ‘She’s just a Barbie, she should be a model.’ Well, a model just beat your ass in Round 2. So, shut up.”
Ditcheva, who was born in Manchester, England, and now fights out of American Top Team in Florida, showcased her devastating striking once again in the finals. She looked comfortable defending Santos’ attempts to get her to the floor, then took over on the feet with front kicks, elbows and punches. She folded Santos, a former UFC title challenger, with a left hook along the fence to claim a $1 million prize.
Since making her debut in 2022, Ditcheva has been a considerable bright spot for the PFL. She won the PFL Europe championship last year, which propelled her to the promotion’s regular season in 2024.
Her countryman, 2022 featherweight champion Brendan Loughnane (30-6), did not fare as well in the main event. Seeking his second championship in three years, Loughnane found himself a step behind Timur Khizriev (18-0) of Russia. Khizriev proved to be too much for Loughnane in every facet of the fight, finding success on both the feet and the ground. He bloodied Loughnane with punches in the second round en route to a win by decision. All three judges scored it a runaway performance for Khizriev: 50-45, 49-46 and 49-46.
In other championship results, heavyweight Denis Goltsov (36-8) submitted fellow Russian Oleg Popov (19-2) in the opening round to win his first title. He advanced to the finals last year as well, but suffered a loss to 2023 champion Renan Ferreira. Lightweight Gadzhi Rabadanov (24-4-2) knocked out Brent Primus (15-4) in the third round for the 155-pound title. Welterweight Shamil Musaev (20-0-1) finished previously unbeaten Magomed Umalatov (17-1) via TKO in the third round, and light heavyweight Dovlet Yagshimuradov (25-7-1) upset 2023 champion Impa Kasanganay (18-5) with a 58-second knockout.