Dakota Ditcheva has become one of the biggest names on the PFL roster but her 2026 got off to a rough start after a hand injury prevented her from competing on the debut card in Dubai.
Now with the cast removed, Ditcheva is recovering with PFL CEO John Martin revealing her timeline to return once she’s fully healed.
“She’s healing well,” Martin told MMA Fighting. “I expect that she’ll be fighting this summer. I want to make sure it heals well but she’s healing well.”
Since arriving in the PFL, Ditcheva has remained undefeated and transformed into one of the promotion’s biggest stars during a dominant run through the old season long format, which included a knockout win over former UFC title challenger Taila Santos. She was originally scheduled to clash with Denise Kielholtz at the PFL Dubai card but her injury prevented that from happening.
Kielholtz remained on the card and picked up a decision win over Antonia Silvaneide but the PFL hasn’t made any decisions yet about rebooking her against Ditcheva or potentially moving in a different direction.
“I think I still like that fight for Dakota,” Martin said about Kielholtz. “Liz Carmouche is around, and I think has to be part of the title conversation. I’m excited to see her get back in the cage. It will be almost a year if it’s this summer but obviously she’s got to be healthy.”
Undoubtedly the biggest fight the PFL could book for Ditcheva is a showdown against featherweight champion Cris Cyborg, who has repeatedly called for the matchup after she dismantled Sara Collins to win the 145-pound title this past December.
Cyborg has vowed that she would cut down to 135 pounds for the fight while Ditcheva would obviously have to move up from her regular weight at 125 pounds. Of course, Cyborg is widely regarded as one of the greatest women’s fighters of all time with title reigns in both the UFC and Bellator before eventually joining the PFL roster.
Despite the size difference, Martin admits he’s definitely intrigued by the possibility of booking Ditcheva against Cyborg but all the pieces of the puzzle have to line up to make it happen.
“I’d like to try to make that fight happen,” Martin said. “I think there’s a natural order to get to that fight though. I’d like to see Cris Cyborg fight this summer and there’s somebody else other than Dakota and I’m going to work to try to make that fight. Maybe that’s at the same time Dakota’s fighting these other people that I mentioned.
“If Dakota wins and becomes champion, I think a fight with Cris Cyborg would be incredibly exciting. We’ll see what happens, but I’d like to make that fight.”
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