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Elmont, NY \u2014\u00a0Flyweight star Dakota Ditcheva wants to get back to work \u201cstraight away,\u201d and won\u2019t be waiting until the PFL becomes MVP if she can help it.<\/p>\n
After a year out of action, Ditcheva (16-0) returned to the cage at Friday\u2019s PFL New York in Long Island, defeating former Bellator title challenger Denise Kielholtz in a three-round decision. Most expect a title shot next for Ditcheva, given the belt sits vacant, but what that title looks like is the question: the PFL is set to merge into MVP (Jake Paul\u2019s Most Valuable Promotions), but there are still several PFL-branded events to play out.<\/p>\n
Speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press following PFL New York, Ditcheva gave her reaction to the merger, which she did not have advanced knowledge of. \u201cI don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t really understand the merger, really. MVP is great, what Jake Paul does is amazing, what he does is amazing. I\u2019m not really sure what it looks like for me yet, I haven\u2019t spoken to anyone because obviously I was just concentrating on my fight this week.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know one single thing about it until it got released on the internet. So I don\u2019t know, I haven\u2019t really got any comments on it yet. I\u2019m hoping it\u2019s a good thing for the fighters, and that\u2019s all I can say right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
She\u2019s not interested in waiting for the inaugural MVP card (or second, if you count the Rousey-Carano event on Netflix this past May). \u201cNo I\u2019ll take another fight. I\u2019m not really bothered by what it\u2019s under, as long as I\u2019m fighting the best. And then yeah. It\u2019s whoever\u2019s got the belt type thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The belt isn\u2019t held by anyone right now, though most expect Ditcheva to be fighting Liz Carmouche for it later this year. Ditcheva didn\u2019t have any message for the former Bellator champ backstage, nor did she have anything to say about what\u2019s next in the cage after her victory on Friday\u2014 because she wasn\u2019t given a post-fight interview. The snub was immediately noticed by media members and fans online, and Ditcheva made clear it wasn\u2019t her decision to avoid the mic. \u201cI didn\u2019t refuse it,\u201d she said, pointing to it being the PFL\u2019s decision, whether it was a broadcast issue or something else.<\/p>\n
It may in part have been based on crowd reaction to Dakota Ditcheva\u2019s return. With her fight with Kielholtz going the distance, fans grew restless in the third round. The boo birds came out. And Ditcheva heard them.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt bothered me, only because I\u2019m passionate about the work I do, and I wanted a stoppage myself,\u201d Ditcheva admitted, before falling back on words her brother and coach told her. \u201cWe don\u2019t care what everybody else thinks.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s me that\u2019s in there fighting. I\u2019m the one that\u2019s in there,\u201d she noted, adding that \u201cto think about the boos for one second\u201d could result in her getting knocked out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want them to boo because I want to be exciting and entertaining for you guys. At the same time, I\u2019m in there fighting. I\u2019m not in there performing a dance. I have to do what\u2019s right for me to get the win and come out on top, and that\u2019s what I did today.\u201d<\/p>\n