Highlights! Dakota Ditcheva steamrolls Jena Bishop, books $1 million finals match opposite Taila Santos | PFL Nashville

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Just moments ago (Fri., Aug. 2, 2024), Dakota Ditcheva secured her spot in the finals of the Professional Fighter’s League (PFL) women’s Flyweight tournament. In her semi-finals match up versus Jena Bishop, Ditcheva overcame a small bit of adversity to score a violent first-round stoppage.

Early on, Ditcheva did well to control the range. She was forcing Bishop to swing wild from a far distance and sticking her with front kicks all the while. When Ditcheva got a little too aggressive with her clinch knees, however, she ended upon getting slammed to the floor by the more experienced grappler.

Ditcheva was stuck on bottom for a minute or two and took some shots returning to her feet, but she made her opponent pay for the grappling success. Ditcheva landed a nasty knee upstairs that floored Bishop, nearly resulting in a walk-off knockout. Instead, Bishop regained her footing and was sat down a second time by a right hand, prompting referee intervention.

Watch the knockout in the video player above!

“Dangerous” improves to 13-0 as a result of the first-round knockout win. Last year, Ditcheva scored three finishes to win the PFL European championship, setting herself up for this run in the main world championship tournament. The decorated kickboxer has gathered major hype in the process, but she’ll face a serious challenge in the finals match up.

Earlier tonight, divisional favorite Taila Santos scored a unanimous decision over Liz Carmouche to secure her own finals opportunity. Consequently, the formerly top-ranked UFC contender will square off with Ditcheva in November, and she surely plans to hand the English striker the first loss of her pro career.

If Ditcheva is victorious, however, PFL just might have a star on their hands.

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