PFL queen Dakota Ditcheva is undoubtedly one of many quickest rising stars within the sport, however how precisely would she stack up in opposition to the very best of the very best from her division throughout all promotions?
Veteran analyst and one-time UFC welterweight title contender Dan Hardy has zero doubts that she would just do advantageous. Actually, Hardy argues that Ditcheva’s devastating putting, aggression and dimension to face toe-to-toe with anyone within the sport already provides her the potential to beat anyone within the girls’s flyweight division.
That features reigning UFC champion Valentina Shevchenko.
“I’d put my cash on her in opposition to Valentina proper now,” Hardy informed MMA Preventing. “That’s with all due respect to Valentina, who I’ve held in excessive regard for a very long time. The factor that Valentina all the time made difficult about my job once I was doing Contained in the Octagon for the UFC, was there’s no spotlight reel moments in her fights actually. Very, very not often and that’s as a result of she utterly dominates folks with simply this regular tempo.
“The type of individual that will break that fashion of preventing is somebody that assaults ferociously. Like Dakota’s obtained the peak and attain, the ability, she’s obtained the viciousness and the fact is American Prime Staff might be one of many hardest mats, particularly for a feminine fighter.”
Whereas her putting acumen is well-known, Ditcheva hasn’t needed to present an excessive amount of of her floor recreation throughout her undefeated run by the PFL ranks.
However Hardy has confidence that Ditcheva may deal with herself in opposition to any fashion, which incorporates when Shevchenko transforms right into a grappling first fighter as she did throughout a lopsided victory over Alexa Grasso to reclaim the 125-pound title again in 2024.
“I’ve obtained to count on her to at the very least maintain her personal on the bottom with Valentina, if not be capable to defend the takedowns,” Hardy stated. “I believe Dakota beats anyone proper now in her weight class.
“I believe pound-for-pound, if she’s not high three, then I’m loopy. I believe she has a rattling good likelihood in opposition to anyone and even going as much as bantamweight and preventing there and having plenty of success there as properly.”
Previous to her most up-to-date win in PFL, Ditcheva turned plenty of heads when she scored a vicious second-round knockout over former UFC title challenger Taila Santos, who took Shevchenko to a razor-close cut up choice once they met.
Hardy seems at Ditcheva as the entire bundle with the flexibility to dismantle any opponent throughout the cage from her regardless of the pedigree.
“She is ideally constructed to be a striker in combined martial arts,” Hardy stated. “She’s obtained that potential to have these lengthy vary limbs to assault you with. She will be overbearing like Anderson Silva was along with her clinch in opposition to the likes of Wealthy Franklin. I really feel like she’s physiologically constructed for combined martial arts and likewise for the talent set that she’s obtained. She may very well be a incredible Muay Thai fighter but when she was 5-foot-2, it wouldn’t be almost as efficient with the talents that she’s obtained.
“I additionally really feel like she’s early in her profession, too, which is kind of terrifying. She’s achieved a lot already and that’s why I really feel like bantamweight may very well be in her future as a result of she’s going to definitely be capable to shift gears and add extra energy to her body.”
Previous to her current win over Sumiko Inaba on the PFL Champions Sequence card in South Africa, Ditcheva inked a brand new multi-fight, multi-year cope with the promotion that she’s known as dwelling since 2022.
Ditcheva has arguably change into the face of the PFL throughout her dominant run however now the promotion has to do proper by her and which means bringing in high stage competitors for her to face.
Hardy agrees that PFL has to pursue free brokers and proceed constructing new challengers, as a result of that’s not solely what Ditcheva deserves, but additionally she wants if there’s going to come back a day when she’s nearly universally acknowledged as the very best girls’s flyweight within the sport.
“It’s important,” Hardy stated. “She’s a particular expertise. She’s at that stage in her profession the place she wants these challenges to maintain her shifting ahead. I imply her choice not to return into the season to the match this 12 months might be is sensible. As a result of two years back-to-back the place you’re in a cycle the place you’ve obtained three fights back-to-back, 4 fights back-to-back, even when the fights have been snug for her at instances, the coaching camps at American Prime Staff have been fairly arduous.
“So I believe the very best factor for her is to get a few good fights this 12 months, a few good challenges after which see the place she is at the beginning of subsequent 12 months.”
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