How injury changed Ditcheva’s outlook on life beyond MMAImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Dakota Ditcheva won the PFL flyweight title in 2024ByKeifer MacDonaldBBC Sport journalistPublished26 minutes agoWhen Dakota Ditcheva makes her PFL return against Denise Kielholtz in New York City on Friday night, she will do so with a very different mindset.It has been a year like no other for Ditcheva, who has been sidelined by injury since breaking her left hand against Sumiko Inaba in July 2025.The British-Bulgarian, unbeaten in her 15-fight professional career, was scheduled to return against Keilholtz in February, but the fight was postponed after she suffered another significant injury, this time to her right hand.For Ditcheva, who won the PFL flyweight tournament and $1m (£740,000) in 2024, her time away has underlined the importance of building a successful career outside the cage.
“It has been tough, and I have been really lucky that I am building things outside of the sport where I have other things I can do and keep busy,” Ditcheva told BBC Sport.
“That has always been a really big thing for me. I always say that when I am done being a fighter, I want to be set up in other things because these moments, where things are taken away from you, kind of give you an insight into what life is going to be like when you stop fighting. Like, ‘now what?”‘
