Dakota Ditcheva was in no way shocked she earned her first submission win this previous weekend at PFL Europe 1.
The 24-year-old improved to 8-0 as a professional MMA fighter when she tapped Malin Hermansson within the first spherical in Newcastle, England. Having come from a Muai Thai background, a number of MMA followers had been stunned by that aspect of her sport.
“I’m not,” Ditcheva mentioned on The MMA Hour. “I work arduous on my floor sport. I like it. I simply haven’t wanted to point out it but, and I’ve clearly had a number of stand-up and I like to strike, so I form of all the time relied on that. However I’ve acquired a floor sport and a wrestling sport — I simply don’t use it that always, and I believe that’s why persons are fairly shocked in the mean time.
“All I see all over the place is she received by sub, by sub. Like everybody’s so shocked. However me and my group are simply actually glad that I acquired to point out slightly little bit of it, however we’re not shocked in any respect as a result of I’m fairly good on the bottom.”
Ditcheva made her professional MMA debut in April 2021, and signed with the PFL a yr later. She’s now 3-0 within the promotion and appears to have discovered a house in combined martial arts.
With the European boxing scene getting an enormous push, she might seemingly make a seamless transition to the squared circle — though, not with the ability to make the most of all of her placing instruments isn’t one thing that excites her.
“I’ve come from Thai boxing,” Ditcheva mentioned. “So, like kicking and elbows is one thing that’s so pure to me. If you happen to take that away from me, I’m probably not, you recognize — I prefer to elbow and I prefer to kick, placing is my predominant factor.
“So I don’t really feel like I’d get the identical buzz out of preventing boxing as I’d MMA, I’d in all probability return to Thai boxing over going to boxing, I believe.”
