Dakota Ditcheva (full name Dakota Lili-Joa Ditcheva) is a British mixed martial artist and former Muay Thai fighter competing in the women’s flyweight division of the Professional Fighters League (PFL). Born on 25 July 1998 in Sale, Greater Manchester, the English-Bulgarian striker is the reigning 2024 PFL Women’s Flyweight World Champion, holds an unbeaten 15-0 professional MMA record, and sits at #1 in the PFL women’s flyweight rankings.
Ditcheva was raised in a fighting family. Her father Ivo Ditchev is Bulgarian, from Samokov; her mother is multiple-time world kickboxing champion Lisa Howarth. She began training in kickboxing, Muay Thai and Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a child and represented Great Britain internationally in Muay Thai before her teens.
Muay Thai career
Before turning to MMA, Ditcheva was a decorated amateur Muay Thai fighter. She won gold in the female junior 57 kg division at the 2016 IFMA World Muaythai Championships in Jönköping, Sweden, and is a three-time junior world champion across combat-sports federations. She also held the 2016 ISKA Muay Thai British Super Atomweight (-50.5 kg) title. Her early success earned her the Daily Mirror and Sport England Pride of Sports Young Sportsperson of the Year award.
PFL & MMA career
Ditcheva made her professional MMA debut in April 2021 and won her first five fights outside the PFL before signing with the promotion in July 2022. She then swept the inaugural 2023 PFL Europe Women’s Flyweight season — submitting Malin Hermansson, knocking out Cornelia Holm with a body punch, and stopping Valentina Scatizzi via doctor stoppage — to win the PFL Europe title.
She backed that up with a perfect run through the 2024 PFL Women’s Flyweight season, finishing every opponent she faced. In the final at PFL 10 on 29 November 2024, she stopped former UFC title challenger Taila Santos with body punches in the second round — the first finish of Santos’s career — to win the PFL Women’s Flyweight World Championship and the $1 million tournament prize. In doing so, Ditcheva became the youngest world champion in PFL history and the first British female MMA world champion.
Recognition and current status
Her 2024 season swept the industry awards. ESPN, MMA Junkie, Combat Press, Cageside Press, LowKick MMA and Uncrowned all named her Female Fighter of the Year. Bloody Elbow named her Breakout Star of the Year (shared with Joaquin Buckley) and MMA Fighting placed her on the 2024 First Team MMA All-Star list.
Ditcheva returned to the cage on 19 July 2025 at PFL Champions Series 2, taking a unanimous decision over Sumiko Inaba. She was scheduled to face Denise Kielholtz at PFL Dubai on 7 February 2026 but withdrew with injury; the bout is now rebooked for PFL New York on 31 July 2026. Away from fighting, Ditcheva is a lifelong Manchester City supporter and celebrates her English-Bulgarian heritage in the ring, carrying a joint English-Bulgarian flag after her wins.
