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PFL's Dakota Ditcheva has addressed the comparisons between herself and UFC legend Ronda Rousey.
The 24-year-old has been making waves ever since she made her pro MMA debut back in 2021. She has since gone on to attain a perfect 8-0 record and has won seven out of those eight bouts via finishes.
Dakota Ditcheva was most recently seen in action against Malin Hermansson in the PFL's European 2023 flyweight quarter-finals this past weekend. The 24-year-old won the bout in emphatic fashion as she defeated her opponent via a rear-naked choke in the first round of the fight itself and qualified for the semi-finals in the process.
Following her victory, Ditcheva sat down for an interview with Airel Helwani on his show, The MMA Hour. During the interview, the 24-year-old discussed a variety of topics and also opened up on the comparisons made between her and Ronda Rousey.
While suggesting that former UFC champion Ronda Rousey has been a big inspiration for her, Dakota Ditcheva said:
"Within my first few fights in MMA, amateur, like there were like some articles about me, you know like being the next Ronda Rousey and things like that. Ronda was quite a big, you know, a person for me to look up to."
Watch Ditcheva's appearance on The MMA Hour below:
Can Dakota Ditcheva live up to her comparisons to Ronda Rousey?
Drawing comparisons to one of the greatest women's mixed martial artists at just the age of 24 certainly mounts a lot of pressure on the shoulders of Ditcheva, who is fairly new to the world of MMA.
Watch the highlights of Ditcheva's fight against Malin Hermansson below:
As mentioned earlier, she is 8-0 in her pro MMA career. While Ditcheva is still considered to be a prospect at this point in her career, Ronda Rousey was already a UFC champion by the time she was 8-0.
However, it is worth noting that women's MMA was just in its beginning stages at that point and was nowhere close to as competitive as it is today. That said, Dakota Ditcheva still has a long way to go in her career before he can be considered as good as or even better than Ronda Rousey.
