Dakota Ditcheva withdraws from return at PFL’s first event of 2026 after last fight ended in tears

Fans are going to have to wait a bit longer to see one of the faces of the PFL make her return.

The promotion’s first event of 2026 was shaping up to be a big night, with Usman Nurmagomedov headlining their next trip to Dubai.

His lightweight title fight wasn’t the only marquee clash that was announced for February 7 at the Coca-Cola Arena.

Dakota Ditcheva’s next outing was also planned to take place at this event following a frustrating outcome in her final bout in 2025.

Unfortunately, this will no longer take place, as the promotion announced on social media.

Dakota Ditcheva forced to withdraw from PFL return in 2026 due to undisclosed injury

Dakota Ditcheva cried inside the cage after beating Sumiko Inaba back in July due to believing that she’d injured her left hand.

Being consistently active has been the key goal for the undefeated 27-year-old but her injury denied her the chance of competing again in 2025.

Ditcheva recently received the #2 spot on ESPN’s ’30 under 30′ list and has emerged into one of the PFL’s biggest success stories.

However, the promotion announced the unfortunate news on December 23 that her scheduled clash with Denise Kielholtz will no longer take place on February 7.

PFL stated that Ditcheva has withdrawn from the matchup due to an injury, though no further information has been provided at this time.