Taila Santos Slams PFL Over Dakota Ditcheva’s ‘Easy’ Opponents
Taila Santos believes Dakota Ditcheva was given a much easier path to the PFL Playoffs.
Both Santos, who once gave Valentina Shevchenko a run for her money inside the Octagon, and Ditcheva are one win away from advancing to the PFL flyweight final. Santos has gone 2-0 since making her Smart Cage debut earlier this year, defeating Ilara Joanne and Jena Bishop during the regular season.
But despite her own success, the one-time UFC title challenger believes Ditcheva was handed more favorable matchups to secure her spot in the final four.
“The fights they were giving her in the beginning, it’s pretty clear they were giving her an easy run so she could make it to the finals,” Santos told MMA Fighting. “That’s why I said I want to show her what a real fight is all about, a tough fight. I fought tough fights since the beginning and I don’t care. That’s exactly what I want. I want to tough fights to show I’m the best.”
Ditcheva scored the No. 1 seed in the playoffs with wins over Lisa Mauldin, a 6-5 fighter from California, and Chelsea Hackett, a 4-3-1 Aussie who made an appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2020. Ditcheva earned her way into this year’s regular season after winning the PFL Europe Championship in 2023, running through three opponents with a combined record of 13-10.
Meanwhile, Santos has more than proven herself by going five rounds with former UFC flyweight titleholder Valentina Shevchenko and earning wins over the likes of Joanne Wood, Roxanne Modafferi, Molly McCann, and Gillian Robertson.
Though she’s by no means looking past her next opponent, Santos can’t help but salivate over the idea of meeting Ditcheva in the tournament final.
“It’s going to be really interested to have both of us getting to this final and fighting each other,” Santos said. “I just want to be in the final and face whoever, but it would be quite interesting to fight her. I would really like to fight Dakota because fans would like this one. People are talking about this fight, and I want to show her what a real fight is like. It would be exciting. I’m very excited to face her, really.”
Taila Santos will have to go through women’s MMA legend liz Carmouche if she wants to meet Ditcheva in the flyweight final
But to get there, Taila Santos will have to get past two-time UFC title challenger and current Bellator flyweight women’s champion, Liz Carmouche.
“It’s an incredible fight. All respect to her, an incredible athlete as well, a veteran, and it’s an honor for me to fight her,” Santos said. “I’m very versatile as a fighter, although I grew up training Muay Thai before training jiu-jitsu and wrestling and everything else. I feel super comfortable in all areas today. I like it a lot, and I know she tries to grapple more, to back her opponents against the cage and impose her game. It’s going to be a very interesting game.”
As for how she sees things playing out in Ditcheva’s semi-final scrap with Jena Bishop, Santos isn’t entirely convinced that the Manchester native will get the job done.
“I think it’s going to be close,” Santos said. “It won’t be an easy fight for either one of them. If Jena can close the distance and take her down quickly and not give Dakota space on the feet — Dakota knows her to use her reach and she’s powerful. Jena surprised me, she’s really strong and I wasn’t expecting that. She’s very experienced, so she can win this if she can close the distance.”
“I came here to win this belt,” Santos added. “I’m ready to go to the final and win, no matter who I’m fighting there. I’m here to fight the best.”
