PFL's newest signing Dakota Ditcheva has big shoes to fill as she aims to match the success of her mother, a former karate and muay thai world champion.
Ditcheva, 23, makes her PFL debut this Saturday following the promotion's semi-final playoffs in London. The former British muay thai champion made her MMA debut and looks for her fifth professional win against Hassna Gaber in the English capital. Ditcheva's mum Lisa Howarth is one of the most successful fighters to be trained by legendary coach Master Toddy, who also trained UFC legends such as Georges St-Pierre and Randy Couture.
Admitting that she wants to live up to her mum's success in combat sports and become a world champion, Ditcheva told Mirror Fighting: "I’m not here to just take part and enjoy the journey, I’m here to get to the top level. I’m not just going to settle for ‘I did well at this’ I’m here to be a world champion and get to the top. Whether that’s with PFL or another promotion, that’s going to be my goal."
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Ditcheva first started fighting as a four-year-old but has consistently been competing since the age of 13 after taking a break from the sport. Despite completing her latest training camp at the prestigious American Top Team gym in Florida, Ditcheva said her mum will always be her head coach and she frequently relies on her for mental support.
“I was four years old when I started fighting, but my mum could see that I wasn’t really interested in it," Ditcheva added. "She never pushed me into it and just because she fought it didn’t mean I had to. I think that was the best decision she made, because I came back to fighting myself and that’s probably why I’ve lasted so long.
"My mum doesn’t want me to fight in general. She told me ‘fighting is a tough life, all days aren’t going to be great and you need to take it seriously because it’s not a halfhearted sport’. My mum knows what it’s like because she’s been through all of it herself, fighting, training and all of the emotions you go through."
Howarth still runs her own gym in Manchester where Ditcheva does most of her striking training. The 23-year-old thinks her career has only benefitted from her mum not pressuring her to fight, adding: "Sometimes parents try to push their kids into fighting and live their dreams through them, but they always quit in the long run. I’ve gone the opposite route, my mum let me do any sport I wanted to do then I came back to it and it’s been my life ever since."
