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Check out these photos from Dakota Ditcheva vs. Chelsea Hackett at 2024 PFL 4 in Uncasville, Conn.
Check out these photos from [autotag]Dakota Ditcheva[/autotag]’s win over Chelsea Hackett at 2024 PFL 4 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. (Photos by Cooper Neill, PFL MMA)
One of the PFL’s fastest-rising stars, Dakota Ditcheva remains on an upward trajectory.
UNCASVILLE, Conn. – At one point during her 2024 PFL 4 bout Thursday, [autotag]Dakota Ditcheva[/autotag] was a 40-to-1 favorite. Moments later, she proved why.
In the co-main event at Mohegan Sun, Ditcheva (12-0) notched another first-round TKO when she blasted [autotag]Chelsea Hackett[/autotag] (4-3-1) with a series of punches for a TKO stoppage at 3:22 of Round 1.
Ditcheva earned another six points for the first-round stoppage and solidified her position as the No. 1 seed in the women’s flyweight playoffs. She’ll face Jena Bishop in the first round of the playoffs.
SHE'S NUMBER
(seed) ! Dakota Ditcheva is going to Nashville for the #PFLPlayoffs#PFLRegularSeason LIVE NOW
ESPN & ESPN+
https://t.co/jPNvomCxHI pic.twitter.com/pPwaERMwpM
— PFL (@PFLMMA) June 14, 2024
Ditcheva, 25, continues her trajectory as one of the promotion’s fastest-rising stars. With the win, she moved to 7-0 under the PFL banner and maintained her 100 percent finishing rate in the promotion.
The up-to-the-minute 2024 PFL 4 results include:
[vertical-gallery id=2748045]
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2024 PFL 4.
It’s not every day that a heavyweight misses the divisional limit, as one did ahead of PFL’s return Thursday.
The PFL regular season continues Thursday with 2024 PFL 4, and all fights are now locked in after the official weigh-ins where one combatant – a heavyweight – missed the mark.
The event, which takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., features heavyweights and women’s flyweights in their first fights of the season.
In the main event, former Bellator interim heavyweight champion [autotag]Valentin Moldavsky[/autotag] (13-3) fights [autotag]Linton Vassell[/autotag] (24-9) for the third time. The co-main event features fast-rising star [autotag]Dakota Ditcheva[/autotag] (11-0) against fellow muay Thai specialist [autotag]Chelsea Hackett[/autotag] (4-2-1).
All fighters except one made weight Thursday, as heavyweight [autotag]Davion Franklin[/autotag] tipped the scale at 268.5 pounds. His opponent, [autotag]Oleg Popov[/autotag] weighed 245 pounds – 23.5 pounds less.
The full 2024 PFL 4 official weigh-ins results include:
MAIN CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 5:30 p.m. ET)
* = Franklin missed heavyweight limit by 2.5 pounds
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2024 PFL 4.
Dakota Ditcheva is one of PFL’s hottest up-and-comers, but Chelsea Hackett embraces the opportunity to fight her.
[autotag]Chelsea Hackett[/autotag] might be a heavy underdog according to the oddsmakers, but she’s feeling like there’s no better time to face opponent [autotag]Dakota Ditcheva[/autotag].
The time is Thursday, at 2024 PFL 4, which takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. Hackett (4-2-1) vs. Ditcheva (11-0) serves as the co-main event.
“If there was a camera on me, I was jumping up and down,” Hackett recently told MMA Junkie Radio. “I was so excited. I have said I wanted to fight Dakota for almost a year now. That’s not me being egotistic. This is me being a competitor. Competitor vs. competitor. All due respect to Dakota and all of that, but I’ve wanted to fight her because I truly believe I have the tools to beat her. Obviously, when I found out I’ve got her, especially coming off a loss, I wasn’t really sure if I’d get the opportunity. But as soon as I found out, I was over the moon.”
The history between Hackett and Ditcheva extends back a decade – though it’s pleasant and respectful. The two fighters competed at the International Federation of Muaythai Associations (IFMA) World Games approximately a decade ago. Hackett remembers watching Ditcheva, who competed a weight class below her.
“She was in the 52kg, I’m pretty sure. I was in the 57kg,” Hackett said. “I remember seeing her at the IFMA Games back then a bit. It would’ve been like 10 years ago now. … I went two years: 2014 to 2015. I’m pretty sure Dakota went both of those years, as well. But Valentina, in 2015, did the same thing. So I saw Dakota and I saw Valentina 10 years ago at the IFMA World Games, so it’s pretty crazy to see where all of our lives have ended up. It’s like we’re now coming together.”
The similarities stick out to Hackett, but so do the differences. The most glaring difference is their position in the 2024 women’s flyweight standings. Ditcheva sits in first place with six points at 1-0. Hackett is in seventh place with no points and an 0-1 record.
Despite the stakes, Hackett views the bout as individual. The circumstances are blocked out.
“The reason why I really wanted this fight, especially in the position I’m in now, is obviously because I have nothing to lose,” Hackett said. “For me, the points are one thing. Let’s take that away with the season format for a second. Me beating Dakota, whatever way it may be – stoppage, decision, whatever round it’s in – that’s a huge win for me. That is also why I wanted this fight. It’s the best time in my career to fight someone like Dakota. Coming off the back of a loss, I’m as hungry as ever. As much as the points are obviously important to stay in the whole tournament, this fight for me, I’m looking at it as a single fight because that’s how big it is.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2024 PFL 4.
The second half of the PFL’s 2024 season starts in mid-June with heavyweights and women’s flyweights on the card in Connecticut.
The second half of the PFL’s 2024 season starts in mid-June with heavyweights and women’s flyweights on the card in Connecticut.
For the first time, the promotion will touch town at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. That venue was the East Coast home for Bellator for years before the PFL purchased it this past fall. PFL 2024, Week 4 is set for June 13.
Former Bellator standouts [autotag]Valentin Moldavsky[/autotag] (13-3) and [autotag]Linton Vassell[/autotag] (24-9) will meet in the heavyweight main event, the promotion announced Monday. Moldavsky is at the top of the standings after a first-round knockout of Ante Delija earlier this month. Vassell was stopped by Denis Goltsov in the third round.
Because only four fighters make the playoffs and the top four at heavyweight all have 4 pints or more, Vassell will need a finish of Moldavsky if he wants a shot at making the postseason.
In the co-main event, [autotag]Dakota Ditcheva[/autotag] (11-0) takes on [autotag]Chelsea Hackett[/autotag] (4-2-1). Ditcheva is one of three fighters with 6 points atop the women’s 125-pound standings after her first-round knockout of Lisa Mauldin in San Antonio. Hackett was submitted by Jena Bishop, so like Vassell finds herself in position to need a stoppage to have a realistic shot at the postseason.
Although there will be four other matchups in each of those divisions, those two matchups are the only ones the promotion announced Monday. The other fights are expected to be announced in the coming days.
After PFL 4 in Connecticut, the promotion heads to Salt Lake City for light heavyweights and lightweights June 21, then Sioux Falls, S.D., for welterweights and featherweights June 28.
“The PFL’s season format is the toughest test in MMA with the addition of elite athletes from Bellator, returning to Mohegan Sun, and PFL Europe looking to clinch a position in the 2024 PFL Playoffs,” PFL CEO Peter Murray said in a news release. “The PFL is excited to bring our brand of MMA to Connecticut, as well as our fans from 160 countries around the globe.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL 2024, Week 3.
Bellator import Jena Bishop notched six points in her PFL debut when she slickly tapped Chelsea Hackett with an armbar.
[autotag]Jena Bishop[/autotag] left her PFL debut with six points and a victory.
At 2024 PFL 1 on Thursday at Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Bishop (7-0) submitted [autotag]Chelsea Hackett[/autotag] (4-2-1) with an armbar at 4:15 of Round 1.
The fight was the first regular season bout for the women’s flyweight division. Bishop maximized her potential points with six, as a result of the finish coming inside the first five minutes.
QUICK
! Bishop goes straight to the top of the Women's Flyweight Standings!!#PFLRegularSeason LIVE NOW
— PFL (@PFLMMA) April 4, 2024
Keep your eye on Jena Bishop in the season! She is Smoooooth#PFLRegularSeason LIVE NOW
— PFL (@PFLMMA) April 4, 2024
A Bellator import, Bishop was rising through the division when the merger between the promotion and PFL transpired. Rather than remain on the Bellator-branded events, Bishop was placed in the season format. The win Thursday is her fourth career submission.
Hackett signed with PFL in 2023 after an unsuccessful bid on Dana White’s Contender Series. She made her promotional debut in August when she submitted Ky Bennett.
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The up-to-the-minute 2024 PFL 1 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2024 PFL 1.
Check out he full results of 2023 PFL Playoffs 1, which features featherweight and light heavyweight semifinal bouts in San Antonio.
2023 PFL Playoffs 1 took place Friday and MMA Junkie provided live and official results throughout the entire card.
The event featured featherweight and light heavyweight semifinal bouts at Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio. The main card aired live on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET following prelims on ESPN+ beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET.
In the main event, [autotag]Bubba Jenkins[/autotag] (21-7) took on [autotag]Jesus Pinedo[/autotag] (22-6-1) in a featherweight semifinal bout. Pinedo entered the contest with a one-point deduction due to missing weight Thursday morning. Jenkins won both of his regular season bouts by picking up a unanimous decision over Chris Wade and a submission against Sung Bin Jo. Pinedo went 50/50 in his regular season outings, starting off with a split decision loss to Gabriel Alves Braga, but rebounding nicely with a first-round finish over 2022 champion Brendan Loughnane.
In the co-feature, [autotag]Josh Silveira[/autotag] (12-1) faced [autotag]Ty Flores[/autotag] (13-5) in a light heavyweight semifinal. Silveira’s regular season run did not see a second round, as he submitted Sam Kei and picked up a TKO win against Delan Monte due to injury in the opening frame. Flores picked up unanimous decision wins over Monte and Dan Spohn in his regular season fights.
Full 2023 PFL Playoffs 1 results include:
Check out the results from Monday’s official Dana White’s Contender Series 36 fighter weigh-ins.
LAS VEGAS – MMA Junkie was on scene and reporting live from Monday’s official Dana White’s Contender Series 36 fighter weigh-ins, where all 10 fighters hit their marks for Tuesday’s card.
Dana White’s Contender Series cards see prospects fighting for the opportunity to sign a UFC deal, with UFC president Dana White on hand to make the decisions.
In the featured bout, a pair of Dana White’s Contender Series return to the show, with South African flyweight [autotag]JP Buys[/autotag] (8-2) following up on a 2017 appearance to face [autotag]Jacob Silva[/autotag] (6-3), who suffered a decision loss in his DWCS debut in August.
In terms of weigh-ins, the most interesting matchup takes place at heavyweight, where Diaz brothers protege [autotag]Nick Maximov[/autotag] (5-0), who normally competes at light heavyweight, moves up a division to take on Mexico’s [autotag]Oscar Cota[/autotag] (11-2). The two fighters weighed in on opposite ends of the heavyweight division, with Maximov at 209 pounds and Cota at 263.5, resulting in a rarely seen 54.5 pound weight difference between the two competitors.
The early weigh-ins took place at the UFC host hotel in Las Vegas. The UFC Apex hosts Tuesday’s card, which streams on ESPN+. Due to scheduling conflicts, the ceremony did not feature faceoffs between the fighters.
The full Dana White’s Contender Series 36 weigh-in results included:
MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)
