Dakota
Ditcheva paid no mind to the raised stakes in the
Professional Fighters League playoffs. If anything, she seemed
amused by them.

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The burgeoning American Top Team star kept her professional record
intact and did so in scintillating fashion, as she buried Jena Bishop
with strikes in the first round of their
PFL 7 women’s flyweight semifinal on Friday at the Nashville
Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Ditcheva (13-0, 8-0
PFL)
brought it to a close 3:54 into Round 1 with a surgical knee strike
from the clinch, a front kick to the body and a right
cross.

Bishop (7-2, 1-2 PFL) made her earn it. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu
black belt delivered a high-amplitude takedown inside the first 100
seconds and briefly progressed to half guard before the opportunity
slipped away. Ditcheva built a base, rose to her feet and created
the necessary space to do business. Once the knee landed, it was
all downhill for Bishop. Ditcheva beckoned the Alliance Jiu-Jitsu
rep back to her feet, slammed a front kick into her midsection and
closed it out with a dagger of a right hand.

The undefeated Ditcheva advances to the $1 million women’s
flyweight championship opposite Taila
Santos, a unanimous decision winner over current Bellator MMA
titleholder Liz
Carmouche in the other semifinal. Santos (22-3, 3-0 PFL)
carried all three scorecards by 29-28 margins.



Carmouche (22-8, 2-1 PFL) did all she could to overcome a failed
weight cut, as she employed a grimy clinch, applied consistent
pressure and secured multiple takedowns. Santos maintained her
focus and racked up points with opportunistic grappling—she
advanced to the Louisianan’s back in the first round and threatened
with a rear-naked choke—and clean combination punching. The
Brazilian twice snapped back Carmouche’s head with sharp one-twos
in the middle stanza. “Girl-Rilla” answered with aggression and two
more takedowns against Santos across the final five minutes, but
the finish she needed was nowhere to be found.

The setback was the first for Carmouche since Aug. 10, 2019 and
snapped her career-best nine-fight winning streak.

Meanwhile, two-time World Sambo Championships gold medalist
Denis
Goltsov wrecked Xtreme Couture’s Tim Johnson
with punches in the first round of their heavyweight semifinal.

The game but outmatched Johnson (18-10, 1-1 PFL) succumbed to blows
2:26 into Round 1.

Goltsov (35-8, 13-3 PFL) tripped the American to the floor, got his
ground-and-pound in gear and climbed to full mount roughly two
minutes into the match. Punches flowed from there, as he cut off
Johnson’s attempt to scramble out of danger. Goltsov eventually
settled on his turtled counterpart’s back and cut loose with
unanswered punches and hammerfists until the job was done.

The 34-year-old Goltsov moves on to the $1 million heavyweight
championship against fellow Russian Oleg Popov,
who cruised to a unanimous decision against Linton
Vassell in the other semifinal. Popov (19-1, 3-0 PFL) swept the
scorecards with matching 30-27 marks from the three members of the
cageside judiciary.

Vassell (24-10, 1-2 PFL) mounted little in terms of meaningful
resistance. The relentless Popov executed multiple takedowns in all
three rounds, consolidated them with ground-and-pound and
methodically wore down the Kill Cliff Fight Club export. With the
41-year-old Vassell visibly exhausted, the second and third rounds
were virtual shutouts. Popov dragged him to the canvas over and
over again, then proceeded to toy with him through repeated mat
returns. The outcome was never in doubt.

Popov now finds himself on an incredible 17-fight winning
streak.

In other action, Sergey
Bilostenniy (13-3, 2-0 PFL) dispatched Tyrell
Fortune (14-3, 1-1 PFL) with
a heel hook 2:00 into the first round of their heavyweight
encounter; Alexei
Pergande (5-0, 5-0 PFL) laid claim to a unanimous decision over
Daniel
Boehle (4-3, 0-1 PFL) in a three-round featherweight scrap,
earning 30-27 scores across the board; Cody Law (9-2,
1-0 FPL) disposed of Zachary
Hicks (9-6, 0-2 PFL) with
a rear-naked choke 3:15 into the first round of their featherweight
tilt; Dedrek
Sanders (9-4, 1-0 PFL) wiped out Sergio
Cossio (19-10-1, 1-1 PFL) with
punches 2:34 into the first round of their 163-pound catchweight
affair; Anthony Ivy
(15-7, 2-0 PFL) put away Jaleel
Willis (16-7, 0-1 PFL) with
a rear-naked choke 4:49 into the second round of their catchweight
clash at 173 pounds; and Kevin Pease
(6-0, 1-0 PFL) took a unanimous decision from Nicholas
Meck (7-2, 1-1 PFL) in their three-round welterweight pairing,
drawing 29-28 marks from all three cageside judges.

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

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