Ditcheva On Retiring From MMA By Age 32

PFL flyweight Dakota Ditcheva says she plans to walk away from MMA within the next few years to focus on building a family.

The 28-year-old, who faces Denise Kielholtz at PFL New York this weekend, told MMA Fighting she does not want to become one of the fighters who cannot let go of the sport. "I don't want to be in a position where I can't let go of fighting," she said, according to the outlet. "I want to be able to love other things at the same time."

Ditcheva Eyes Life After Fighting

Ditcheva, a two-time PFL tournament winner, said starting a family remains important to her despite the difficulty of balancing that goal with an MMA career. "I live a single life, all the time, it's so difficult to even think about one day having a family and it's important to me," she explained. She added that she needs a mental cutoff date to avoid becoming the type of fighter who keeps returning to competition into their late 30s.

BJPenn.com also carried Ditcheva's comments about her future plans. The undefeated prospect has long been considered a future star in women's MMA, though she currently competes for PFL rather than UFC following the recent merger between PFL and Bellator.

Ditcheva defends her status as one of the promotion's top draws when she meets Kielholtz on the New York card Saturday night.

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• BJPenn — Dakota Ditcheva discusses how long she wants to compete in MMA