When Dakota Ditcheva grew to become the primary British girl to win an MMA world title, she had no thought of the frustration that might comply with.
After the 26-year-old’s historic win over Taila Santos within the PFL flyweight last – her fourth victory in a golden 2024 – she had all of the momentum.
Congratulations poured in from icons of girls’s MMA, together with Amanda Nunes, Cris Cyborg and Joanna Jedrzejczyk, however quickly the narrative would develop.
The query beginning to type on everyone’s lips after that career-high second in November was “what’s subsequent?”.
Ditcheva was able to battle anybody, however the dominant means by which she had dispatched her opponents – together with three first-round stoppages and one within the second spherical – meant there have been no worthy challengers left within the promotion.
“Clearly, with me strolling by way of them final 12 months it is made it tough,” Ditcheva tells BBC Sport.
“It is positively irritating. I did so nicely final 12 months – I fought within the cage 4 occasions and clearly the final one was a giant one and drew numerous consideration, however now I felt like my momentum had type of dropped off.
“Santos was the highest woman within the division and the actual fact I walked by way of her so simply is one other factor which made this 12 months so tough. They [the PFL] did not know which path to place me in.”
