'I've cried non-stop' — Ditcheva breaks both hands again after PFL New York win
Dakota Ditcheva said she has "cried non-stop" after breaking both of her hands in the win over Denise Kielholtz at PFL New York earlier this month, a fight she won by unanimous decision in her first outing in just over a year.
The 28-year-old had been sidelined since July 2025 after breaking her left hand and then suffered a fracture in her other hand five months later; she extended an unbeaten start to her career to 16 fights and has won 12 of those 16 by knockout. Ditcheva, who won the PFL flyweight tournament in 2024 and the $1m prize, is described in the report as one of the biggest stars in the PFL and one of Britain's most talented fighters.
Ditcheva said she fought the majority of the contest with two broken hands and reported feeling the damage early in the fight. "I broke my hands in the fight. I could feel it from the second I started the second round," she said on YouTube.
She told reporters she hid the injury during the bout and only revealed it after leaving the cage, and said she is in splints while awaiting medical advice. "I didn't tell my corner. I didn't tell anybody. I didn't show it this time, and I didn't actually tell anybody until I got out of the cage. "I am back in splints until my surgeon has decided what the next steps are going forward, which will be in the next few days."
Ditcheva explained one fracture relates to a hand she opted not to have operated on last year and described the other as a smaller break. "The good thing is I have no new breaks. It's just the hand that wasn't operated on that I broke at the end of last year," added Ditcheva.
She recounted being warned that skipping surgery carried a risk of re-injury and said she now faces the consequences of that decision. "I was told that if I didn't go ahead with surgery at that time, there was a possibility it could break again. I took the risk in not doing the surgery because I was hoping it would hold strong, and it didn't. "So therefore I'm paying the price for it now and I will be out for a little bit."
On the emotional and practical impact, Ditcheva said she has been distraught but intends to return sooner than after her previous lay-off. "I have honestly cried non-stop the last week," she said. "I will be back. This is not going to take me out. My career is not done. "Although it felt like that once again, I will be back. I'm hopefully going to be back quicker than I was last time."