The first thing Dakota Ditcheva bought after her historic title last month was a McDonald’s for her friends and family.
The 26 year old victory over Taila Santos – where she won the PFL flyweight belt to become the first British woman to win a major MMA world championship – came with a $1 million (£787,000) prize.
Ditcheva ordered chicken nuggets, French fries and a Coke, but she couldn’t enjoy all of her celebratory meal.
“I actually ended up giving the chicken nuggets to my little brother because he forgot to place an order. So in the end I just ended up with fries and a Coke, but it was still delicious,” Ditcheva says with a laugh.
As footage of his second-round knockout spread on social media, congratulations poured in from some of the biggest names in MMA.
Current and former champions Amanda Nunes, Cris Cyborg, Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Kayla Harrison paid tribute, but the message that meant the most to Ditcheva came from a more unlikely source.
Former Manchester City striker Paul Dickov.
“He’s the one that stands out because we’ve been City fans all our lives, it’s a surreal moment,” he says.
“Even my friend was like ‘Oh my God, Paul Dickov texted you, that’s my hometown legend’!”
Ditcheva celebrated by exploring Riyadh with her family, before flying to Florida, where she visited Disneyland with her friends.
From ordering fast food to living and breathing Manchester City and spending time with loved ones, what’s important to her is maintaining a sense of normality.
“This is how I always want it to be. I don’t want my life to change at all,” says Ditcheva.
“The fact that I won a world title doesn’t make me better than anyone else. I may have a million in the bank, but if that million is taken away from me, I’ll be the same person.
“So I want to make sure I stay that way and that’s what I always wanted.”
Ditcheva divides her time between her home in Manchester and Florida, where she has an apartment nearby to train with the American Top Team (ATT).
“I would say Florida is my first home now because I’ve been here more times than I’ve been to the UK. But if I say that to my mom, she’ll kill me. So yeah, Florida is my second home,” he said. says.
The influence Ditcheva’s mother has had on her career, which has produced a notable 13 stoppages in 14 fights, cannot be understated.
Lisa Howarth is a former world kickboxing champion and handed the title to Ditcheva following her victory over Santos.
“That’s probably something I still don’t understand: my mother handed me the belt, from one world champion to another, from a mother to a daughter,” Ditcheva said.
Since moving to ATT in 2022, Ditcheva credits coach Conan Silveira for having had the biggest impact on her development, because he mirrors her mother in emphasizing the importance of the mind.
In the weeks leading up to the fight, he manifested his victory by creating a mood board and placing it above his bed.
She printed photographs of her holding a replica of the title and a check for $1 million, as well as writing down what she would spend the prize money on.
“My mother always makes me visualize things. I think that’s probably why she was so confident and so calm going into the fight, because she really believed from deep within that she had already won,” Ditcheva said.
“Having moved away from my mom and not having her there 100% all the time, it’s crazy that I found that in Conan as well.”
In the lead-up to Ditcheva’s fight with Santos, it was not widely reported that she had a chance to become her country’s first female MMA world champion in a major promotion like the UFC, PFL or Bellator.
she says there is there is still a lot of work to do in the growth of MMA in the UK and wants promotions to host more events in the country to help build it.
One of his priorities for 2025 is to bring the PFL to Manchester.
“I want us to build that fan base here, which I don’t think we’re doing very well right now,” he adds.
One of the challenges Ditcheva faced during her formative years as a mixed martial artist was the lack of female partners to train with her.
She says it can be difficult for young girls in a male-dominated sport, but she wants to use her platform as a champion to urge them to embrace training with men.
“When you go to the gym and it’s full of guys, don’t worry, we can all train with guys,” Ditcheva said.
“It’s very intimidating, but I’ve had it my entire career and you’re going to get a lot better from it.
“Also make sure you enjoy training, that’s what I want to tell the young people. You always improve when you enjoy something.”