Dakota Ditcheva is cleared to fight and wants the winner of PFL Chicago’s women’s flyweight championship fight.
That would be Jena Bishop, who beat Liz Carmouche on Saturday night to take the 125 pound belt. Carmouche had previously beaten Bishop, but this time Bishop was too crafty on the ground and took a 48-47 decision on all three judges’ scorecards. Now Bishop has a chance to avenge another loss from the past: her 2024 tournament semifinal loss to Ditcheva.
The good news is she may not have to wait long. While Ditcheva announced she’d broken both her hands (again) during a July win over Denise Kielholtz, “Dangerous” says doctors have given her the go-ahead to strike in training and she wants to return to the cage in early 2027.
“The recovery is good,” Ditcheva said on the PFL Chicago broadcast before Bishop and Carmouche fought. “I got cleared yesterday to go back training now, so I can slowly start punching again. I’ve been grappling already, so that everything feels fine like it did last time.”
“I’m ready to go February, March. I would love to get in and challenge someone for the belt.”
Breaking your hands so regularly could lead to some worrisome confidence issues, but Ditcheva has her own spin on her situation.
“The universe kind of makes its way for me, and I just follow it,” she said. “And if that means two broken hands, it means two broken hands. The thing is with me, I’ve just got in and fought three rounds and won comfortably with two broken hands for the whole fight. So tell me what I can’t do now!”
“Like, I can get in and do it for three or five more rounds. Like, it’s absolutely fine. So I think that’s the mindset I’m going for. If it happens again, it’s not something I’m going to focus on, but if it does, I know now I can keep fighting and still win.”
Ditcheva is 16-0 and considered one of the most exciting women in mixed martial arts right now. The next step in her career is to become a champion, and we don’t doubt the PFL will set that fight up next. Now all she has to do is not break her hands again.
