Dakota Ditcheva is erasing any doubts around her overall skill level in mixed martial arts, one sensational knockout at a time.
Ditcheva (13-0) punched her way to the PFL flyweight finals on Friday in Nashville with a first-round TKO victory over Jena Bishop (7-2). The finish came at the 3:54 mark.
Ditcheva dropped Bishop with a standing knee strike to the chin and then motioned for Bishop to get back to her feet. Bishop managed to stand but was badly hurt, and Ditcheva finished the bout moments later with a right hand.
Ditcheva, a 26-year-old phenom, was favored to win, but the matchup was still viewed as her toughest to date. Some have criticized the level of competition Ditcheva has faced thus far, but Bishop is a respected veteran from a well-known camp. She is also the best grappler Ditcheva has faced, but ultimately posed little threat to the runaway hype train.
"Did they expect [me to win]?" Ditcheva said. "I have taken a lot of crap on the internet, all fight week, from the girls in the tournament. I think I proved we don't do no split decisions around here. Jena, her whole team, the mean girls in her club have been tagging me in Instagram stories. She's going to join the list of cans now. So, take a seat."
Ditcheva, of Manchester, has knocked out all three opponents she has faced this year in the first round. She will now face former UFC title challenger Taila Santos (22-3), who advanced to the finals with a unanimous decision win over Bellator MMA champion Liz Carmouche (22-8). Santos has been vocal about wanting to fight Ditcheva throughout the regular season.
Santos was not as flashy as Ditcheva in her semifinals win, but she did snap a nine-fight winning streak for Carmouche. She is 3-0 since parting ways with the UFC and signing with the PFL. She beat Bishop via split decision in her most recent appearance in June, which is what Ditcheva referenced in her postfight comments.
In the heavyweight division, Denis Goltsov (35-8) made easy work of Tim Johnson (18-10) to advance to his second consecutive PFL finals appearance. He lost to Renan Ferreira in the 2023 championship. This year he will take on Russian heavyweight Oleg Popov (19-1), who outwrestled Linton Vassell (25-10) to a unanimous decision in the semifinals.
The PFL finals will take place in November. The promotion has not yet announced an official date or location. The playoffs continue over the next two weeks, with four other weight classes featured on events in Florida and Washington D.C.