Ditcheva Breaks Both Hands, Pursues Boxing

Dakota Ditcheva broke both hands during her unanimous decision win over Denise Kielholtz at PFL New York earlier this month.

The unbeaten flyweight revealed in a YouTube video that she felt the damage early in the second round but kept it from her corner and trainers, Sherdog reports. "I could feel it from the moment I started the second round," she said. "I didn't tell my corner. I didn't tell anybody. I didn't show it this time and I didn't tell anybody until I got out of the cage."

Ditcheva Eyes Boxing Debut With MVP

The 27-year-old Manchester fighter now wears splints while waiting to learn if surgery will be required. The injury traces back to previous fractures — Ditcheva had surgery on one hand after breaking both in an earlier bout but left the other untreated. Doctors warned that the untreated break could fracture again if she kept fighting without an operation. One of the old fractures held up against Kielholtz, while another finger broke during the fight.

Ditcheva improved to 16-0 with the win, which came after a year-long layoff. She controlled the five-round decision over the former kickboxing champion and maintained her status as one of the PFL's biggest draws.

Despite the setback, Ditcheva told Most Valuable Promotions she is interested in competing in boxing for the Jake Paul-backed outfit, which merged with the PFL earlier this year. The promotion posted a clip of her confirming the interest on X after the Kielholtz fight.

Reported via:

• Sherdog — Recently injured PFL star Dakota Ditcheva wants to box for MVP