Dakota Ditcheva Cements Herself as PFL’s Best Home-Grown Star by Clinching Spot in Flyweight Championship

Dakota Ditcheva is a star. There’s no arguing that at this point. When it comes to how to draw interest in fighting, she understands the assignment.

Ditcheva, the PFL Europe women’s flyweight tournament champion, continued to build upon her legend on the main roster during a women’s flyweight tournament semifinal during PFL 7 Friday night in Nashville, Tennessee. Ditcheva picked up her third straight first-round finish, this time against Jena Bishop.

The victory means that Ditcheva will have an opportunity to fight former UFC title challenger Talia Santos for the PFL championship in November. Ditcheva’s next fight will be the step in the competition people have wanted to see.

Regarding MMAfighting latest news, the PFL has faced criticism over the fights it gave Ditcheva. In a flyweight division stacked with recognizable names from Bellator and the UFC, Ditcheva mostly had to fight relative unknowns.

But that is over now. Ditcheva’s Muay Thai striking has impressed all observers and should create issues for Santos. The PFL has struggled during its time with leaning on former stars from other organizations to stack its roster. Ditcheva could be the fighter who turns the tide in their battle for top talent.

She has one more fight to earn $1 million and justify the organization’s faith in her.

Goltsov Was All Business in Main Event

Denis Goltsov is nearly due for a lifetime achievement award in the PFL. The Russian heavyweight has been with the organization for a long time but has never been able to reach the top. After dominating Timothy Johnson, Goltsov earned an opportunity to fight for the title for a second straight year.

During the 2023 season, Renan Ferreira, a towering Brazilian heavyweight, smashed Goltsov 26 seconds into the second round. Goltsov didn’t let Johnson have any opportunities to feel good about an upset.

Midway through the first round, Goltsov was able to force Johnson to the mat by securing a takedown with an outside trip. Despite Johnson attempting to grab the cage to stay up, Goltsov got him to the cage floor.

The MMA latest updates show things got ugly on the ground for Johnson. Goltsov ended up landing a number of hard ground-and-pound shots that forced a stoppage.

Popov Turns in Workmanlike Performance

Oleg Popov didn’t turn in the most exciting performance during his heavyweight fight with Linton Vassell. But Popov accomplished what he set out to do. Popov controlled the fight by landing 12 takedowns to keep Vassell from being able to employ his tremendous power.

Popov, who is 19-1, wasn’t able to find a finish. But producing a stoppage doesn’t matter quite as much in the postseason. During the regular season, earning bonus points can improve your seeding for the playoffs.

But Popov also had to adjust to what opponent he was training for. Originally, Popov was supposed to fight Valentin Moldavsky, but he pulled out with an injury.

Santos Earns the Fight She Was Looking For

Santos has been vocal about Ditcheva being given preferential treatment by the PFL schedule makers. Following a win over Bellator flyweight champion Liz Carmouche, Santos will get her opportunity to show the world if she is truly better than Ditcheva. Santos did have an edge going into the fight with Carmouche.

Carmouche missed weight by two pounds. That meant that the PFL gave her a one-point deduction on the scorecard to start that fight. That meant Carmouche would have needed to win all three rounds or score a stoppage to reach the finals.

But the point deduction never came into play. Santos did enough on her feet and by stopping Carmouche’s wrestling to win 29-28 on all three scorecards without the point deduction.

Biolstenniy Wins in Unique Fashion

Sergey Bilostenniy isn’t a fighter who people expect to wrap up submissions. But Bilostenniy also prefers to win in any way possible. When Tyrell Fortune presented an opportunity to go for a leg lock, Bilostenniy pounced on the opportunity.

During the first round of their fight, Bilostenniy was able to grab hold of Fortune’s leg and put him in a position for a knee bar. It is unclear exactly how deep the hold was put in. When Bilostenniy transitioned to a heel hook, Fortune started yelling in pain.

Referee Jason Herzog told him that if he continued to scream it would be a verbal tap. While Fortune continued to struggle to break free, he kept yelling. Herzog stepped in to stop the fight, giving Bilostenniy his first-ever win by submission.

Long Arm of the Law 

Zachary Hicks may have made the lowest-IQ move of the whole event, according to MMA news sites. Hicks decided to try and shoot for a lazy double-leg takedown against Cody Law. Of all the fighters to be dedicated to a takedown against, Law may have been the worst choice Friday night.

Law was a NCAA Division II national champion at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. When Hicks didn’t show good form, Law pounced immediately. He would quickly transition to the back and earn an easy submission win.

Sanders Pulls Upset

Dedrek Sanders has mostly had an up-and-down run of results during his MMA career. But when his opponent, Sergio Cossio, came in 6.8 pounds overweight, it was a sign to Sanders. Cossio may not have been taking Sanders seriously.

That would end up being a huge mistake. During the first round, Sanders challenged Cossio to trade with him in the pocket. Sanders would end up using the dynamite in his hands to sit Cossio down just 2 minutes and 34 seconds into the fight.

Here’s a look at the rest of the fights on the card not mentioned above:

• Featherweight, Alexei Pergande win by decision over Daniel Boehle, 30-27 (x3)
• Catchweight (173 pounds), Anthony Ivy win by submission (rear-naked choke) over Jaleel Willis, Round 2 4:49
• Welterweight, Kevin Pease win by decision over Nick Meck, 29-28 (x3)

Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.

By Dean McHugh.