Dakota Ditcheva Clinches Top Spot in PFL Women’s Flyweight Playoffs With Impressive First-Round Finish
Dakota Ditcheva still has a lot to prove in mixed martial arts. There was some criticism directed at the PFL for pitting the undefeated Ditcheva against Chelsea Hackett, who has a 4-3-1 record, in the last fight of the regular season. But Ditcheva did exactly what any organization would want a potential superstar to do in that spot.
Ditcheva leaned on her Muay Thai roots and dominated the fight. When Ditcheva landed her finishing combination, it didn’t even look like Hackett belonged in the same cage as her. Ditcheva threw some hard knees in the clinch while pushing Hackett against the cage.
Ditcheva then landed a devastating shot to the midsection that had Hackett doubled over. MMAfighting latest news shows that the next challenge for Ditcheva will be her most difficult. If Ditcheva is going to win the women’s flyweight tournament, she will have to face a former UFC fighter in the final.
If Ditcheva’s power can hold up, the PFL may have a star on their hands in the young striker. Ditcheva will have the opportunity to prove that she is worthy of all of the hype. But this fight night, which took place at the Mohegan Sun Arena, saw four heavyweights and three other women’s flyweights earn spots in the playoffs.
Here’s a look at some of the other notable happenings from the event.
| PFL Women’s flyweight final regular season standingsTop four make playoffs | ||||
| Name | Win | Loss | Points | |
| 1. | Dakota Ditcheva | 2 | 0 | 12 |
| 2. | Talia Santos | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| 3. | Liz Carmouche | 2 | 0 | 7 |
| 4 | Jena Bishop | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 5. | Juliana Velasquez | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 6. | Kana Watanabe | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 7. | Ilara Joanne | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 8. | Chelsea Hackett | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 9. | Lisa Mauldin | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 10. | Shannon Young | 0 | 2 | -1 |
Carmouche Pulls Off a Veteran Maneuver
Liz Carmouche found out after her fight with Kana Watanabe that she was behind on the scorecards going into the third round. She fought like it in the third round, hunting a finish as soon as the referee allowed fighting to resume. Despite landing many stiff combinations on Kana Watanabe, it appeared Watanabe was going to survive.
But the best MMA news sites show that Carmouche, the Bellator women’s flyweight champion, leaned on her savvy to pick up an important win. Watanabe made the mistake of playing on the ground late in the fight with Carmouche.
Carmouche threw up an armbar attempt late in the fight. She was able to lock Watanabe’s arm up and force her to tap out with eight seconds remaining. Carmouch will now face former UFC title challenger Talia Santos in the semifinals.
| PFL Heavyweight final regular season standingsTop four make playoffs | ||||
| Name | Win | Loss | Points | |
| 1. | Denis Goltsov | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| 2. | Oleg Popev | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| 3. | Valentin Moldavsky | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | Tim Johnson | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 5. | Daniel James | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 6. | Tyrell Fortune | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 7. | Sergei Bilostenniy | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 8. | Linton Vassell | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 9. | Thiago Santos | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 10. | Daniel Marques | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 11. | Marcelo Golm | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 12. | Davion Franklin | 0 | 1 | -1 |
Goltsov Bullies Santos
Denis Goltsov has spent his career looking to win the PFL heavyweight championship. Goltsov bullied Thiago Santos, scoring a first round knockout in 2022 to clinch a spot in the playoffs for the fourth time since 2019. Last season was the closest Goltsov came to a title.
He was knocked out in the second round of the final by Renan Ferreira. But Goltsov hasn’t been discouraged by his past disappointments. He made quick work of former UFC title challenger Santos, who was bumping up a weight on short notice.
Goltsov was able to use his striking to force Santos to the ground before following up with ground-and-pound. Goltsov will face Tim Johnson in the semifinals.
Tim Johnson Makes Remarkable Debut
Part of the excitement with MMA is that it is hard to know exactly what will happen from event to event. But Johnson’s heavyweight fight with Danilo Marques made MMA breaking news for a bizarre circumstance. Early in the first round, Johnson connected with a heavy hook that sent Marques spilling to the canvas.
It could be argued the impact of the fight could have led the referee to stop the fight. However, at the same time as Johnson’s hook landed, Marques was throwing a low kick that hit Johnson in the groin and sent him to the canvas. The fight was stopped due to the illegal strike.
After Johnson recovered, he rallied to knock Marques out later in the first round.
Vassell Wins Wild Split Decision in Main Event
Linton Vassell missed his opportunity to make the playoffs when he couldn’t score a first-round stoppage against Valentin Moldavsky. However, Vassell never quit the fight. After being dominated in the first round, Vassell changed the entire tenor of the fight with a nasty knee in the second round.
In the third round, Vassell and Moldavsky exchanged positions on the ground. It was hard to tell who was going to get the decision because the third round was razor close. While Vassell picked up a split decision, Moldavsky still finished in second place in the standings and will fight teammate Oleg Popov in the playoffs.
Here’s a look at the rest of the fights on the card not mentioned above:
- Heavyweight, Oleg Popov win by decision over Davion Franklin, 30-27 (x2), 30-25)
- Women’s flyweight, Talia Santos win by split decision over Jena Bishop, 29-28 (Santos x2), 29-28 (Bishop)
- Heavyweight, Tyrell Fortune win by decision over Marcelo Golm, 30-27, 30-27, 30-25
- Women’s flyweight, Ilara Joanne win by decision over Shanna Young, 30-27 (x2), 29-28
- Women’s flyweight, Juliana Velasquez win by TKO over Lisa Maulding, Round 2 1:30
- Women’s flyweight, Sumiko Inaba win by split decision over Saray Orozco, 29-28 (Sumiko x2), 29-28 (Orozco)
Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.
By Dean McHugh.
