PFL Europe finalist Dakota Ditcheva wants to leave a legacy that the next generation of fighters can look to emulate.
The British flyweight is one of the few female fighters in the UK currently making waves in big promotions – alongside others such as UFC fighter Molly McCann and Bellator contender Leah McCourt.
The 25-year-old has the chance this weekend to become the first-ever PFL Europe women’s flyweight champion.
She is looking to build on this platform and go on to inspire the next generation of fighters coming through.
She said: “Yeah, of course I mean, it’s just – I think through my experiences I want to be able to be a big inspiration and show to the next generation that they can be who they want to be.
“I want to wear a fight skirt when I fight, so I’m going to do that, and I want to get in the cage – I’m gonna do that. I think I’m just gonna be me and I think that’s the one thing that I want to prove to a lot of girls coming up now.
“You can, you can be whatever you want to be, you don’t have to follow the crowd and do what everyone else is doing. You can just find ways to show your personality and go with what you love and what makes you happy.”
Ditcheva Looks Ahead to PFL 2024 Global Season 2024 and Integration of Bellator
Dakota Ditcheva will face Valentina Scatizzi in the finals this weekend in Dublin following a gruelling tournament schedule this year.
This is the first time PFL have taken their tournament to a continent, proving a big success with events in Newcastle, Berlin and Paris.
The Mancunian has finished both of her previous opponents while her Italian opponent found her way into the final following a second-round bye.
The winner will take home $100,000 as well as the chance to compete in the 2024 PFL global season.
The former Muay Thai champion looked ahead to what her 2024 may look like.
She said: “Yeah, I’m excited. I mean that was the plan at the beginning – to do PFL Europe, win this belt and then go to the main season.
“But, I’m not sure what the plans are with that, what weight divisions they’re going to do next year for the global season and obviously Bellator now is kind of gonna rock everything again. We’ve got a nice 125 [lb] division in Bellator so they’re bringing a few of the girls over from there.
“It could be interesting- I’m up for anything really as long as they keep me busy, like I said, I want at least three fights next year too. So I’m happy to go with whatever now.”
Dakota Ditcheva Full Exclusive Interview
You can watch the full interview with Dakota Ditcheva below:
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Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
