Liz Carmouche doubts whether Dakota Ditcheva has earned the attention she gets: "Yes and no"

Liz Carmouche has shared the cage with some of the greatest fighters in women's MMA history. So, it's safe to say she has an eye for the 'it' factor, and while she recognizes that Dakota Ditcheva has drawn a lot of attention as a fighter, she isn't entirely convinced she's earned that kind of hype.

Dakota Ditcheva still needs to prove herself, says Liz Carmouche

In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, WMMA pioneer Liz Carmouche was asked whether she thinks undefeated PFL women's flyweight star Dakota Ditcheva is overhyped. She's 16-0, and is both the 2024 PFL women's flyweight champion and 2023 PFL Europe women's flyweight champion.

However, according to Carmouche, Ditcheva has benefitted from favorable matchups, saying as much on The Ariel Helwani Show after being asked if she thinks Ditcheva deserves the fanfare she gets (5:48):

"I think yes and no. I think I'll go with the no first. The no being is that I don't think she's fought, if you look at the tournaments, one side is getting these people that are 3-2, 1-2, and then the other side has 20-2, 17-6, and she was on the side where you're getting what some people call cans or just the least experienced fighters. And having wins against that, of course that makes sense. If you have 17 fights and you're fighting somebody with three, two which are losses, you should beat them. That's without a doubt."

She did, however, praise Ditcheva's marketability and instinct for connecting with the media and fans, while generating a big buzz for the PFL.

"She's also done everything right with media. She does fit the bill of being able to be a great athlete and then also be attractive. She is charismatic, she's well-spoken, she's engaging with the media. She's doing everything she's supposed to with social media that's helping have people keep interest in PFL. And she's out there, she's still doing great finishes. That's not to say that she's just one submission, that's all she has. She's still doing a really good job of being a great striker and being able to finish people in different ways in striking."

While Carmouche is right to doubt the quality of some of Ditcheva's opposition, Ditcheva did exceptionally well against a top ex-UFC fighter in Taila Santos, who once dragged the great Valentina Shevchenko to a tough split-decision in a UFC women's flyweight title loss at UFC 275. Ditcheva demolished her at PFL 10 in 2024, TKO'ing her in round two.

She has since won twice more, but has struggled for consistent cage time and is now nursing an injury, which has derailed a potential bout with Carmouche.