'Gutted' PFL champion Ditcheva calls for fight

Manchester combatant Dakota Ditcheva says she is "gutted" not to person immoderate conflict connected nan sky successful nan PFL.

Ditcheva, 26, won nan PFL's 2024 flyweight world title, but nan PFL person since made sweeping changes to their events including downgrading nan tourney status.

Ditcheva will compete connected nan recently created 'PFL Champions Series' successful 2025 and tin only watch from afar arsenic nan PFL's different flyweights statesman competing successful nan tourney this month.

"I'm gutted that I haven't had thing conscionable yet," Ditcheva told MMA Junkie., external

"I'm conscionable like: Get maine anything. Literally I get it's difficult for PFL.

"They've put each nan girls successful nan tournament. Now they person to find personification that's going to springiness maine a bully competition."

Ditcheva has been told by nan PFL she will apt conflict astatine nan extremity of nan twelvemonth against nan tourney winner, having past fought successful November.

"What if nan champion doesn't extremity up coming retired of nan conflict clean? What if they're injured?" Ditcheva said.

"Someone who has fought 3 times, do they want to conflict maine astatine nan extremity of nan year?

"They mightiness say, 'sorry, I'm injured, aliases I don't want to conflict this year, I'll do it successful January'. That's a full twelvemonth retired for me. It's testing for sure, but thing will come."

Ditcheva is not nan only PFL prima to speak retired astir nan scheduling, pinch respective fighters demanding nan securing of their merchandise from nan MMA promotion including Patricio Pitbull who subsequently signed for nan UFC.

Former Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen posted connected societal media successful February that he hadn't "heard a peep" astir immoderate fight.

Briton Fabian Edwards, who lost to Eblen successful his past outing successful October, will conflict successful nan first information of middleweight tourney connected Friday and appealed to nan PFL to get their champion fighters booked.

"To spot each those guys connected nan sidelines for a twelvemonth aliases complete a year, it's craziness. I conscionable dream they tin benignant retired what they request to benignant out," Edwards said.

"I dream they conflict each nan guys soon. This is really we make our living. This is what we sacrifice everything for. Hopefully, they benignant everything out."