British MMA prospect Dakota Dycheba stole the show this week at PFL 4 in Uncasville, Connecticut, with a first-round knockout of Chelsea Hackett.
With the win, Ditcheva improved to 11-0 as a professional and secured the No. 1 seed in the women's flyweight playoffs.
Dycheva will face fourth-seeded Jenna Bishop in the PFL playoffs.
The 25-year-old made headlines with her big win and is now hailed as one of the next stars in mixed martial arts.
MORE: PFL 4, 2024 results: Dakota Dycheba secures top playoff seed with dominant win
YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul praised Ditcheva on social media, tweeting, “The next MMA superstar… Dakota Ditcheva.”
The next MMA superstar…Dakota Dycheba pic.twitter.com/S8hppzc1jE
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) June 14, 2024
Paul is no stranger to championing women's combat sports.
His Most Valuable Promotions provided a platform for Puerto Rican boxer Amanda Serrano (46-2-1, 30 KOs), the unified featherweight world champion.
Ditcheva is in the semifinals and, if all goes according to plan, will face the winner of the $1 million final in November between Thalia Santos and Liz Carmouche.
Meanwhile, Paul was due to return this summer against legendary fighter Mike Tyson, but the fight has been tentatively rescheduled for November 18th after Tyson was forced to pull out due to illness.
Paul has also said he plans to move into MMA, so we may see “Problem Child” and Ditcheba appear on the same PFL card in the future.
