Dakota
Ditcheva is a problem.
In the span of less than 365 days, the mauler from Manchester has
won the
Professional Fighters League Europe championship, five straight
fights by KO/TKO, and on Friday at the
PFL 2024 Season Championships, she became the youngest PFL
global champ in history when she demolished Taila
Santos (22-4) in two rounds.
Advertisement
We could be watching the birth of a bonafide superstar in the world
of women’s mixed martial arts. Ditcheva (14-0) is a monster. She
showed that she has the wrestling to shut down a recent
Ultimate Fighting Championship title challenger and the
striking prowess to put anyone in her way into the dirt. Santos is
a world-class fighter, who was one round away from winning the UFC
flyweight title, and
Ditcheva blew her out of the water. Her muay thai
skills are deadly, and she shows no mercy.
You can etch Timur
Khizriev’s name in the history books of the Dagestani empire.
The undefeated featherweight claimed the $1 million grand prize on
Friday after battering former PFL tournament winner Brendan
Loughnane en route to a unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46,
49-46) in the main event at King Saud Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia.
While Loughnane (29-6) spent much of his camp preparing for
Khizriev’s formidable wrestling, the Manchester native wasn’t
expecting Khizriev’s lighting fast hands or his slick head
movement. Khizriev’s (18-0) pace hounded Loughnane all night, and
there was nothing the former champ could do to keep him off him.
Loughnane was bloodied and battered from round two on and forced to
survive off grit to the final bell. Fighters from Dagestan have had
little trouble collecting the belts across the globe. With a
respected wrestling lineage at their disposal, fighters like
Khizriev, Islam
Makhachev and Usman
Nurmagomedov have showcased elite striking performances on the
biggest stages.
The PFL Championships were full of unforgettable fights, but none
were more shocking than the light heavyweight final.
After winning the tournament last year, many expected Impa
Kasanganay to become the first light heavy to repeat as
champion, but Dovletdzhan
Yagshimuradov put a pin in that. In a mere 60 seconds, the
tornado from Turkmenistan blew Kasanganay away with too many
haymakers to count. Kasanganay (18-5) has been disciplined
throughout his PFL run, but his decision to trade with the
heavy-handed Yagshimuradov out the gate will haunt him. Once he was
clipped, there was nowhere to hide, and the
former champ could do nothing but shell up and take his
beating. At 35, Yagshimuradov (25-7-1) notched his
first world title and extended his win streak to seven.
Two undefeated welterweights entered the Smartcage for a chance at
$1 million, and only one left with his undefeated record intact.
Shamil
Musaev (18-0-1) brutally took fellow Russian countryman
Magomed
Umalatov’s (17-1) unblemished streak after knocking out the
Eagles
MMA product in three rounds (1:44).
This fight was heavily anticipated after both men cruised to the
championship. Still, Museav proved to be on another level. His
wrestling was just as strong as Umalatov’s, but the difference in
hand speed was astounding. The two unbeaten contenders showed
respect throughout the first two rounds. It was an intriguing chess
match, but the crowd grew restless. Musaev finally gave the fans
something to cheer about after
dropping Umalatov with a picture-perfect left hand before following
up with a fight-ending flurry on the mat.
There’s a new lightweight champion, and his name is Gadzhi
Rabadanov.
The Dagestani wrestling expert proved he’s way more than just a
grappler with a textbook third round knockout (2:31) over former
Bellator
MMA champion Brent
Primus in the PFL lightweight championship. Rabadanov (24-4-1)
came in on a nine-fight win streak and made Primus (15-4) look
every bit of 39. Rabadanov forced Primus to his back and pressured
him nonstop while in his guard. In round two, he cracked Primus
with a right hand that put him on the seat of his pants.
Rabandov would floor Primus two more times before putting him out
for good.
Denis
Goltsov has been one of the best heavyweights in the PFL for
the last five years, but before Friday, he was never the
best.
It would take just under three minutes to change that. “The Russian
Bogatyr” claimed the top spot and the $1 million grand prize after
submitting Oleg Popov
with a triangle choke 2:51 into the first round of their
championship bout. Goltsov (36-8) had dominant runs through the
regular season, but after falling short in the finale last year,
many wondered if Goltsov was doomed to forever be a runner-up.
Popov (19-2) came into the fight on a 17-fight win streak and
wasted little time taking the older man to the mat. Goltsov inched
his way to the fence and patiently worked his legs above Popov’s
head. Goltsov’s well known for his punching power and earned his
ticket to the big dance off three straight TKOs, but he’s also a
skilled grappler.
Popov found out the hard way after being put to sleep by Goltsov’s
python-like squeeze. Goltsov hopes to secure a super
fight with Francis
Ngannou after his career-defining victory.