Dakota Ditcheva returned to the cage for the first time in over a year tonight as she outpointed massive underdog Denise Kielholtz.
PFL New York was co-headlined by two major names, with Ditcheva’s long-awaited comeback making way for the final fight of Usman Nurmagomedov’s contract. He faces Archie Colgan in the main event of tonight’s show for the lightweight title.
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Ditcheva last competed in July of last year when she suffered a hand injury against Sumiko Inaba that stopped her from continuing her devastating knockout streak. And it was another decision tonight as Kielholtz managed to survive three rounds despite some books making her a +10000 underdog.
Dakota Ditcheva vs Denise Kielholtz PFL New York result
It didn’t take long for Dakota Ditcheva, starting out of a southpaw stance, to get to work on attacking the legs of Denise Kielholtz. Her kickboxing champion rival managed to stay around the range well, but clearly struggled with the size difference between the pair.
Kielholtz had tipped the scales around four pounds lighter than Ditcheva at yesterday’s weigh-in, and looked to counter-punch in the early exchanges. However, with seconds to go in the first round she appeared to be badly hurt with a knee from the Brit.
Ditcheva started as she had just finished in the second and went for the knockout, although there was a brief moment where she struggled with Kielholtz on the ground. The tough Dutch challenger was tough as they come, but couldn’t force a submission while down there.
Then it was Ditcheva’s turn to go for a takedown, albeit seemingly doing it just to prove that she could before getting back to the feet. As the pace began to slow in the third, the New York fans loudly booed what they felt was a disappointing outing.
Ultimately, the returning Manchester native was well able to score the decision victory, but it won’t be what she was looking for after such a lengthy lay-off.
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