Dan Hardy has highlighted the key difference between Ronda Rousey and MMA’s latest female superstar. ‘Rowdy’ broke down walls by winning 12 straight fights by stoppage. Thus becoming one of UFC’s greatest legends before retiring in 2016 due to concussion setbacks. Amanda Nunes took over in her absence, but since ‘The Lioness’ left MMA in 2023, there’s been a distinct vacuum in the sport. Enter PFL’s Dakota Ditcheva to break the fall.
Make no mistake – there have been other prominent WMMA UFC/MMA fighters. Ditcheva’s ATT teammate Kayla Harrison, a two-time PFL lightweight champ and Olympic Judoka made a glorious transition to UFC as well. But none have been that “Ronda Rousey” level of reckoning.
Dakota Ditcheva could fill the void after an incredible run that saw her go 14-0 and win the PFL’s $1 million flyweight tournament. UK MMA legend Dan Hardy also considers her as a more well-rounded version.
Ronda was a pioneer in martial arts, women’s martial arts in particular, but the reason why she was so effective is because she was particularly overwhelming in one range, right? …Whereas Dakota, over the last two years, has also shown that she’s a fully well-rounded MMA fighter…You know, she can grapple and stay safe if she hits the floor with a world-class jiu-jitsu player.
Dan Hardy to Bloody Elbow’s Jordan Ellis
Ronda Rousey, 12-2-0, was the pioneer at UFC 157 to have started it all. A bronze winner for the 2008 Summer Olympics, she became the inaugural women’s bantamweight champ and held the most UFC title defenses (6). She won at the 2007 Pan American Games/2007 World Judo Championships. However, the dominant fighter had a linear style of pinch-in-the-clinch-grab-takedown and reigned upon with serious ground and pounds.
It’s due to this linear style that many had considered her old partner, two-time Olympic Judoka ( –63 kg to –78 kg division) Harrison to be a better version of her. Whereas Dan Hardy provides that with her working the takedown defense, hulled with her hollow Muay Thai close knees and signature hooks-in-range, Ditcheva is a better standout and danger for any division! She’s also young and has a lot to go on.
Dakota Ditcheva’s journey so far: Is she the best pound-for-pound worth flyweight right now?
In the space of just one PFL season, Dakota Ditcheva went from exciting rising prospect to an established pound-for-pound slugger. At the start of her first PFL regular season, Manchester’s Ditcheva was by no means a newcomer. She ended big at the PFL Europe women’s flyweight circuit with a win last year.
It wasn’t that ‘Lioness’, the ‘Cyborg’ machination, or Ronda Rousey kind of fame. But she went more and more viral as did her highlight reels. She began at 2024 PFL 1, dissecting Lisa Mauldin with a methodical striking barrage like none other.
Dakota Ditcheva has had quite a run (Source: X)The win earned Ditcheva six points in the women’s flyweight rankings. Only former UFC title challenger Taila Santos had more. At 2024 PFL 4, Ditcheva pulled to solidify the No. 1 seed with an R1 finish over Chelsea Hackett. Then she outdid smooth grappler Jena Bishop in under four minutes.
Against Bishop herself, Ditcheva was no more a ginormous favorite to prop but still won. However, she was well aware of the critical cliche. Where the more she grew, the more joined the list of ‘cans’ she had clobbered. The same happened with UFC signing/Bellator Grand Prix welterweight Michael Page when he fractured a skull.
That all changed when Santos jumped ship after a title decision debacle against Valentina Shevchenko. She’d provide the stiffest test all through the 2024 PFL Regular Season. But Dakota passed it anyway at the 2024 PFL Championship fight night at King Saud University in Riyadh. The PFL season format is a challenge. Four wins in eight months is the norm for the $1 million prize money. Ditcheva made it look easy.
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