Dakota Ditcheva paid no mind to the raised stakes in the
Professional Fighters League playoffs. If anything, she seemed amused by them.
The burgeoning American Top Team star kept her professional record intact and did so in scintillating fashion, as she buried
Jena Bishop with strikes in the first round of their
PFL 7 women’s flyweight semifinal on Friday at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Ditcheva (13-0, 8-0 PFL)
brought it to a close 3:54 into Round 1 with a surgical knee strike from the clinch, a front kick to the body and a right cross .
Bishop (7-2, 1-2 PFL) made her earn it. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt delivered a high-amplitude takedown inside the first 100 seconds and briefly progressed to half guard before the opportunity slipped away. Ditcheva built a base, rose to her feet and created the necessary space to do business. Once the knee landed, it was all downhill for Bishop. Ditcheva beckoned the Alliance Jiu-Jitsu rep back to her feet, slammed a front kick into her midsection and closed it out with a dagger of a right hand.
The undefeated Ditcheva advances to the $1 million women’s flyweight championship opposite
Taila Santos , a unanimous decision winner over current Bellator MMA titleholder
Liz Carmouche in the other semifinal. Santos (22-3, 3-0 PFL) carried all three scorecards by 29-28 margins.
Carmouche (22-8, 2-1 PFL) did all she could to overcome a failed weight cut, as she employed a grimy clinch, applied consistent pressure and secured multiple takedowns. Santos maintained her focus and racked up points with opportunistic grappling—she advanced to the Louisianan’s back in the first round and threatened with a rear-naked choke—and clean combination punching. The Brazilian twice snapped back Carmouche’s head with sharp one-twos in the middle stanza. “Girl-Rilla” answered with aggression and two more takedowns against Santos across the final five minutes, but the finish she needed was nowhere to be found.
The setback was the first for Carmouche since Aug. 10, 2019 and snapped her career-best nine-fight winning streak.
Meanwhile, two-time World Sambo Championships gold medalist
Denis Goltsov wrecked Xtreme Couture’s
Tim Johnson with punches in the first round of their heavyweight semifinal.
The game but outmatched Johnson (18-10, 1-1 PFL) succumbed to blows 2:26 into Round 1 .
Goltsov (35-8, 13-3 PFL) tripped the American to the floor, got his ground-and-pound in gear and climbed to full mount roughly two minutes into the match. Punches flowed from there, as he cut off Johnson’s attempt to scramble out of danger. Goltsov eventually settled on his turtled counterpart’s back and cut loose with unanswered punches and hammerfists until the job was done.
The 34-year-old Goltsov moves on to the $1 million heavyweight championship against fellow Russian
Oleg Popov , who cruised to a unanimous decision against
Linton Vassell in the other semifinal. Popov (19-1, 3-0 PFL) swept the scorecards with matching 30-27 marks from the three members of the cageside judiciary.
Vassell (24-10, 1-2 PFL) mounted little in terms of meaningful resistance. The relentless Popov executed multiple takedowns in all three rounds, consolidated them with ground-and-pound and methodically wore down the Kill Cliff Fight Club export. With the 41-year-old Vassell visibly exhausted, the second and third rounds were virtual shutouts. Popov dragged him to the canvas over and over again, then proceeded to toy with him through repeated mat returns. The outcome was never in doubt.
Popov now finds himself on an incredible 17-fight winning streak.
In other action,
Sergey Bilostenniy (13-3, 2-0 PFL) dispatched
Tyrell Fortune (14-3, 1-1 PFL) with
a heel hook 2:00 into the first round of their heavyweight encounter ;
Alexei Pergande (5-0, 5-0 PFL) laid claim to a unanimous decision over
Daniel Boehle (4-3, 0-1 PFL) in a three-round featherweight scrap, earning 30-27 scores across the board;
Cody Law (9-2, 1-0 FPL) disposed of
Zachary Hicks (9-6, 0-2 PFL) with
a rear-naked choke 3:15 into the first round of their featherweight tilt ;
Dedrek Sanders (9-4, 1-0 PFL) wiped out
Sergio Cossio (19-10-1, 1-1 PFL) with
punches 2:34 into the first round of their 163-pound catchweight affair ;
Anthony Ivy (15-7, 2-0 PFL) put away
Jaleel Willis (16-7, 0-1 PFL) with
a rear-naked choke 4:49 into the second round of their catchweight clash at 173 pounds ; and
Kevin Pease (6-0, 1-0 PFL) took a unanimous decision from
Nicholas Meck (7-2, 1-1 PFL) in their three-round welterweight pairing, drawing 29-28 marks from all three cageside judges.
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