Britain’s newest MMA millionaire, Dakota Ditcheva, would be more than up for a fight with UFC’s queen Valentina Shevchenko.
Shevchenko is the no.1 women’s pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC, meaning she is branded as Dana White’s best female fighter – regardless of weight division.
Ditcheva was crowned PFL’s flyweight world champion last month after finishing Taila Santos, a former UFC fighter, in two rounds, subsequently winning $1million too.
She now boasts an undefeated professional MMA record of 14 wins and no defeats, with ten of those victories coming in the first round.
This led to MMA fans urging the 26-year-old from Sale, Greater Manchester, to make the switch over to White’s UFC due to a lack of fighters at her level in the PFL.
“I think I’d do pretty well,” ‘Dangerous’ said, responding to how she would get on against some of the best females in the UFC.
“People are always asking me about [Shevchenko], but I mean, she’s my top fighter out of everyone.
“So I’ll always give her all respect. She’s been champion for years and years… I’m not quite there yet.
“I’m still 26. These girls are like 31,32. So I have to kind of humble myself a little bit.”
When pressed on how she would get on against Kyrgyzstan’s star MMA fighter Shevchenko, Ditcheva didn’t hold back with her response.
“I could definitely and I would,” she added. “You put me in a cage and I’ll go against anyone.
“Someone put a funny video on [social media] saying: ‘Give her [Francis] Ngannou and I’d give a good go at that if I could.”
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Ditcheva trains with American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, alongside names like current UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja.
Both fighters praised the American gym for their elite training and standard of opponents who compete there.
‘Dangerous’ credited the gym for possessing ‘like-minded, dedicated people’ that help her ‘stay on track’.
But she does allow room for discipline to be thrown out of the window on some occasions.
“After every fight, I’ll always have a draft Coke from McDonald’s,” she said, talking about her fight week traditions.
“That seems to be the one thing that I always go for… just a Coke, I’m not bothered about the food.
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“All camp I just crave draft Coke and I’m not even a fizzy drinker. It’s really stange. I’m on water all the time.
“I always ring my Nana on the day [too]. I always FaceTime her and speak to her.
“I tend to stay very busy, I’ve got a really good team around me and that’s probably why PFL liked me so much because I’m always up for filming.”
It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out that PFL have a lot stronger feelings than solely ‘liking’ their new British female star.
Ditcheva has brought new eyes to her beloved sport, and her unique background — where she used to spar with her world champion kick boxer mum in her youth — adds a unique human interest element to her personality.
Her mother, Lisa Howarth, never pushed Ditcheva to be a fighter, but has stuck with her for the entire journey, and was there on the night she became Britain’s first-ever female MMA world champion to present her new strap.
The 26-year-old is still contracted to the PFL for another year, but there is no doubt White and senior officials at the UFC have been keeping a very close eye on her.
For now, Ditcheva has denied having any conversations with either the UFC or PFL about her future.
But she did confirm that she is looking forward to seeing what PFL come up with, while adding she would ‘happily’ do another tournament, although it ‘wouldn’t benefit’ her career to face the same fighters.
‘Dangerous’ also wants to be remembered as someone who lived up to her nickname and somebody that made ‘movement’ in the sport—just like her mum.
PFL has another up-and-coming British representative in Lewis McGrillen, who has a perfect pro MMA record with ten wins and no defeats.
The 24-year-old, also from Manchester, won PFL Europe’s bantamweight title last week after finishing Alexander Luster in Lyon, France.