I’m an MMA star out to emulate my champion mum after entering PFL’s $100,000 winner-take-all European tournament
DAKOTA DITCHEVA is out to emulate her champion mum in the Professional Fighters League’s European tournament.
Ditcheva is signed to the American MMA promotion, where contenders have two qualifying bouts, with points earned per method of victory.
The top four in each weight then progress to the knockout stages, setting up a grand finale where $1m (£820,000) and a championship belt awaits.
And now PFL have now launched a European season, following a similar format but with only one qualifier before the knockouts.
And it instead offers $100,000 (£85k), a title and the chance to enter their global $1m-winning league.
Ditcheva, 24, is among the flyweight hopefuls and is has a chance to become a champion like her ex-Muay Thai fighter mum Lisa.
She told SunSport: “It’s full circle, everything she’s done is coming back round for me.
“It’s nice to have someone like my mum, who has been through the stuff I’m going through.
“She’s able to advise and be there with me every step of the way, having known she’s been through it as well.
“That’s something that has always motivated me the whole time.
“Any milestone, like going to America and winning, that’s something my mum did, so it was something I wanted to do.
“Now coming home with these belts is something she’s done and I want to do.
“It’s constantly full-circle, trying to keep that legacy that she built going.”
Ditcheva’s mum Lisa competed in Thai boxing, full-contact karate, kickboxing and Muay Thai, where she won world honours.
In later years, Lisa opened up her own gym in Manchester, making it a family business for Ditcheva and brothers Cody and Kacy.
She said: “My mum has had her gym now in our hometown for over 30 years so I was kind of born into that and around it my whole life.
“I think that’s how I’ve grown to have the sport so close to my heart and so much engraved into me through the life experiences she’s had in sport.”
Ditcheva, who is 2-0 with PFL, admits the motivation to succeed like her mum and mentor does bring expectation – but it’s only brought on by herself.
She said: “Of course there’s pressure but only on my own behalf. There’s no pressure from anyone else.
“My mum will always say, ‘Just do your best.’ But I want to make her proud. Her career is special to me, it’s what has inspired mine.
“So I just put pressure on me to keep that going. Although it’s healthy pressure.”