Connect with us

MMA

Dakota Ditcheva responds to Liz Carmouche, complaints about her being the ‘diva of the division’ in PFL

Published

3 months ago

on

Dakota Ditcheva responds to Liz Carmouche, complaints about her being the ‘diva of the division’ in PFL

Dakota Ditcheva has arguably become the face of the PFL, but with that level of celebrity comes scrutiny, whether it's valid or not.

Originally scheduled to compete in February after recovering from an injury, Ditcheva was supposed to face Bellator veteran Denise Kielholtz, which wasn't exactly on the top of anybody's wish list with-top ranked flyweight contender Liz Carmouche lingering out there as the biggest and best possible challenger. Sadly, Ditcheva suffered another injury that delayed her comeback until Friday's PFL event in New York where she's once again matched up against Kielholtz rather than Carmouche.

But Ditcheva makes it clear that just like when she was fighting in February, she didn't ask for anybody specifically as an opponent and she refutes any criticism that she's getting special treatment due to her growing popularity.

“I didn't choose this,†Ditcheva told MMA Fighting. “PFL came to me and said ‘do you want to fight Denise?' People talk about me being this golden child and the diva of the division type of thing. I don't ever pick my opponents. I let PFL come to me with whoever they want to put me against and I think they felt like Denise made sense. The whole division has been busy without me. There's a lot of new girls in the division now. I had to fit in with them. I can't be out for a year and then come back and say I want this and this and this.

“I just came back and said I'm ready to fight, they said let's give Denise the fight she was promised. She won her fight in Dubai so it makes sense and that's just what I went with. If they gave me anyone else, I would have been like OK. I just fight whoever they give me.â€

When it comes to a potential showdown against Carmouche in the future, Ditcheva openly admits that's the ideal matchup for the flyweight division, especially if a championship is involved.

That said, Ditcheva scoffed at the idea that she's avoiding Carmouche or that the PFL is protecting her from a fight she's somehow destined to lose.

“Liz has had her comments but if we end up fighting, we end up fighting,†Ditcheva said. “That's not something I'm avoiding at all. If that's the fight that's made next, that's the fight you will see.

“As regards to the belt, no one's got the belt yet and I am not bothered if I fight for it or not. Because as long as I beat whoever they give me and I'm sat at the top, I don't really care. I would fight Liz for no belt as long as I'm fighting for my No. 1 spot. I feel like my No. 1 spot is more important than the belt for me.â€

Ditcheva admits trash talking has never been her thing so she didn't really pay too much attention to anything that Carmouche has said during her absence.

But Ditcheva has heard past opponents say plenty of crazy things trying to get under her skin and thus far nobody has been remotely successful. She doesn't expect that to change for Carmouche or anybody else for that matter.

“It just sounds so familiar to everyone else,†Ditcheva said. “At this point, I'm just like I'm sure Liz is a really nice lady. But I'm not bothered by the whole trash talk thing. I'm not bothered about speaking bad on Liz.

“Props to her. Great fighter. If we end up fighting, we end up fighting but until then you're not getting any air time out of me.â€

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

MMA

Alexander Volkanovski predicts wild finish of 20-0 Movsar Evloev

Published

2 hours ago

on

October 20, 2026

By

Alexander Volkanovski predicts 'wild' finish of 20-0 Movsar Evloev
Alexander
Volkanovski is brimming with confidence ahead of his next title
defense.

Volkanovski (28-4) is scheduled to defend his
Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight title against
Movsar
Evloev (20-0) at
UFC 333 on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The Australian
champion believes he can deliver a career-best performance against
the undefeated Russian.

Alexander Volkanovski doubts Movsar Evloev can outgrapple him
for 25 minutes at UFC 333

Evloev has won all 10 of his UFC bouts by decision, but Volkanovski
doubts the challenger can outgrapple him for five rounds. “The
Great†believes Evloev would need to catch him with a decisive
strike to win.

“Trying to outgrapple me for 25 minutes, I can't see it,â€
Volkanovski told MMA Junkie. “I believe that the only chance that
any of these guys have is for them to catch me… If he thinks he can
beat me by decision or he thinks he can outgrapple me, I'm sure
he's gonna try, we'll see. I'm just very confident in my skills and
the fighter I still am… I think I can do it in pretty wild fashion.
I believe I can get a finish. I believe I can do it inside five… A
lot of people are going to go say after this fight, ‘Is that the
best Volk we’ve ever seen?'â€

Volkanovski first won the title against Max
Holloway in 2019 and defended it five times before losing to
Ilia
Topuria in 2024. He reclaimed the vacant championship against
Diego
Lopes last year after Topuria moved up to lightweight, then
defended it in their rematch in January.

Continue Reading

MMA

Joaquin Buckley vows to livestream UFC comeback after 3 straight losses

Published

14 hours ago

on

October 19, 2026

By

Joaquin Buckley vows to livestream UFC comeback after 3 straight losses
Joaquin
Buckley remains undeterred after his third consecutive defeat
in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Buckley faced Mike Malott in the Canadian's home country at

UFC Edmonton on Saturday. Malott landed a knee in the second
round and followed with a punch before the referee stopped the
bout. Despite the setback, “New Mansa†remains optimistic about his
future.

Joaquin Buckley plans to document his rebuild after Mike
Malott’s UFC Edmonton knockout

Buckley won six straight fights before his current skid. He now
plans to livestream his efforts to rebuild, inviting fans to follow
the process.

“Right now, we rebuilding and I want y'all to see the process, not
just the results,†Buckley wrote in the caption of his postfight
Instagram post. “The highs, the lows, and everything it takes to
become who God called me to be.â€

In the accompanying video, Buckley said he wants to share his
training and introduce fans to his team.

“I realize that I want to document everything,†Buckley said. “I
want to document the process, I want to document the work, I want
to document the team. This is really just starting back over from
scratch; creating a new foundation and making something happen… I'm
not going to stop; I'm going to keep working. And I'll make sure
that everybody remembers that name.â€

Continue Reading

MMA

Joaquin Buckley vows to livestream UFC comeback after 3 straight losses

Published

14 hours ago

on

October 19, 2026

By

Joaquin Buckley vows to livestream UFC comeback after 3 straight losses
Joaquin
Buckley remains undeterred after his third consecutive defeat
in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Buckley faced Mike Malott in the Canadian's home country at

UFC Edmonton on Saturday. Malott landed a knee in the second
round and followed with a punch before the referee stopped the
bout. Despite the setback, “New Mansa†remains optimistic about his
future.

Joaquin Buckley plans to document his rebuild after Mike
Malott’s UFC Edmonton knockout

Buckley won six straight fights before his current skid. He now
plans to livestream his efforts to rebuild, inviting fans to follow
the process.

“Right now, we rebuilding and I want y'all to see the process, not
just the results,†Buckley wrote in the caption of his postfight
Instagram post. “The highs, the lows, and everything it takes to
become who God called me to be.â€

In the accompanying video, Buckley said he wants to share his
training and introduce fans to his team.

“I realize that I want to document everything,†Buckley said. “I
want to document the process, I want to document the work, I want
to document the team. This is really just starting back over from
scratch; creating a new foundation and making something happen… I'm
not going to stop; I'm going to keep working. And I'll make sure
that everybody remembers that name.â€

Continue Reading
Advertisement

OUR NEWSLETTER

Subscribe Us To Receive Our Latest News Directly In Your Inbox!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Trending