PFL Finals: Dakota Ditcheva stops Taila Santos to become first British woman to win MMA world title

Dakota Ditcheva delivered another emphatic performance to stop Taila Santos in the second round and become the first British woman to win an MMA world title.

Manchester’s Ditcheva, 26, ended the contest with a flurry of body shots to secure the Professional Fighters League (PFL) flyweight title and $1m (£785,000) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The victory extends the unbeaten start to her career to 14, a run which has seen a remarkable 13 stoppages.

“I’ve been telling you, I’ve tried to tell you, I just keep proving them wrong,” said Ditcheva.

Ditcheva came into the bout as arguably the PFL’s biggest female star after a remarkable start to her MMA career.

Since joining the PFL in 2022, she has won nine fights all by stoppage, with seven of her wins coming in the first round.

Brazil’s Santos, 31, is a former UFC flyweight title challenger and was tipped to provide the toughest test of Ditcheva’s career, but like many previous opponents, the Briton made it look easy.

After winning last year’s PFL Europe flyweight title, Ditcheva has transitioned effortlessly to the global stage, securing three first-round knockouts to set up the showpiece bout with Santos.

Ditcheva looked relaxed during her walkout, despite the magnitude of the occasion, dancing her way to the cage as a pocket of fans from the UK cheered the Manchester fighter.

Ditcheva opened the contest with a trio of leg kicks before landing a quick one-two punch combination which stung Santos.

It set the tone for a dominant round as Ditcheva navigated the grappling exchanges well, before going on the attack again with a front kick to the face which brought ‘oohs’ from the crowd.

Ditcheva’s advantage in the striking continued in the second round as she continued to target Santos’ legs, before attacking with knees and elbows.

With Santos taking more punishment, she backed up against the cage before Ditcheva went in for the finish.

A thudding knee hurt the Brazilian, who keeled over as Ditcheva continued to target the body.

With Santos defenceless, the referee stepped in, crowning Ditcheva Britain’s first female MMA world champion.

She celebrated by putting lipstick on in the centre of the octagon, before embracing her team and roaring with joy.

“The world is mine. I just beat the best girl out there. Me and PFL will come out with something amazing again,” said Ditcheva.

“She’s a tough girl. I knew what I was capable of. I worked so hard. They’ve been talking, ‘she’s just a Barbie, she should be a model’. Well a model just beat you in round two, so shut up.”

Ditcheva then shouted out fellow Mancunian Brendan Loughnane, who faces Russia’s Timur Khizriev in the main event for the PFL featherweight title.

“Brendan is about to bring home his second world title. Then next year, no more PFL shows until we’ve gone to Manchester,” added Ditcheva.