Cris Cyborg is really trying to get this fight with Dakota Ditcheva.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest women’s MMA fighters of all time, at 40 years old, Cris Cyborg is near the end of her illustrious career. In December, she defeated Sara Collins, defending her PFL featherweight title at PFL Lyon. Afterward, Cyborg then shocked the MMA world by calling out 2024 PFL flyweight tournament champion Dakota Ditcheva for a superfight. Given the 20-pound weight disparity between the two of them, Ditcheva was not at all expecting that.
“That Cyborg moment was crazy for me,” Ditcheva told Ariel Helwani on Tuesday. ”I was actually really happy about it because 2022, January, before I signed with PFL … I went to Canada to fight on a show, and I got a picture with Cyborg, because she was the celebrity fighter that was there to watch all those girls fight. I was so, so happy to get a photo with her, because oh my god, Cris Cyborg! Another amazing female in this sport. Then, fast-forward a couple of years and she’s calling me out! This is crazy! I’ve only been in the sport three years and she’s calling me.
“So actually, I was honored to be called out by her, but I just didn’t feel like it made that much sense right now.”
That being said, if Cyborg could make it to 135 pounds, Ditcheva says she’s be interested, with some conditions.
“If Cyborg could make 135, and they give me a bit of time. She’s had a bit more time,” Ditcheva said. “She’s saying it’s her last fight. I haven’t got that much time to put weight on. I’m not a big 125er. I don’t have a tough weight cut at all. So for me, I’d have to strength up big. But I would have done it if she was even close to 135. Pay me some big money and hell yeah I’ll get in.”
But Ditcheva seems to doubt that’s really a possibility. Cyborg is a career featherweight, and was famously unable to make 135 pounds to compete as a bantamweight in the UFC. Ditcheva, meanwhile, has spent most of her career at 125 pounds. For Ditcheva, this seems like Cyborg is just trying to draft off her ascending name.
“Respectfully, she’s not giving the fight, I am,” Ditcheva said. “I, 100 percent, would be the one that sells that fight more. It would be a superfight, but she’s calling me out. She’s picking me. She needs me. She’s not picking anyone else out. Leah’s been asking for it for ages, she’s not picking Leah out. It’s a superfight for sure, but you kind of need me to make it big. Obviously, it makes sense on her part. I’m not calling out no 105 atomweight person. It doesn’t makes sense. So that’s why I didn’t entertain it. I don’t like feeding into people just using my name all the time.”
But Cyborg insists that’s not what’s happening. After Ditcheva’s interview, the featherweight champion went on social media and agreed to Ditcheva’s terms, saying that making 135 pounds will no longer be a problem for her, and they can fight in the fall.
“Super fights take two people. I can make 135 for a superfight in the fall.
“Dakota Ditcheva. If this is a fight you want… there isn’t a bigger fight that the PFL can put on for either one of us. I’m 40. My body carries much less muscle than it did when I struggled to make 140.
“I won’t miss weight for my retirement fight.
“I can make 135 this fall if we agree to a date early enough.
“It was 2016 when I struggled to make 140…10 years ago.
“My body carries much less muscle in my 40’s than it did in my 30’s.
“Superfight always takes 2 people to make – This is the biggest fight the PFL can make.”
There’s no word yet from the PFL if they are at all interested in booking this fight.
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Honestly, Ditcheva vs. Cyborg is the best thing PFL can book right now, and it makes sense for both women. If Cyborg really can make 135 (I think she can) then there’s no reason not to go through with it. If Dakota loses, oh well, she lost to Cyborg up a weight class, and Cyborg gets to end her career in the biggest way possible. If Dakota wins, she elevates her stardom, and Cyborg is on the way out anyway. Win-win.
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