PFL star Dakota Ditcheva ripped Ronda Rousey for the disparaging comments she made about former UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev.
The former UFC women’s bantamweight champion went after Chimaev at Thursday’s pre-fight press conference ahead of Saturday’s MVP MMA event on Netflix featuring Rousey vs. Gina Carano in the main event. Rousey called Chimaev “cleft-lip Lincoln,” mocking the scar on his face that he suffered in a childhood accident. This was in response to Chimaev recently criticizing Rousey ahead of his own fight at UFC 328 against Sean Strickland. Clearly, Rousey heard the comments and did not like them, and so she fired back.
But at least one other MMA fighter did not like the way Rousey went about it when she mocked Chimaev for his scar, which is not actually a cleft lip, something that is a common birth defect that no one chooses to have.
Dakota Ditcheva Rips Ronda Rousey
Taking to her social media on Friday, a day before Rousey fights Carano on Netflix, Ditcheva ripped the UFC Hall of Famer for the comments she made about Chimaev and said she is no longer a fan of someone she once looked up to.
“@rondarousey‘s comment towards Chimaev regarding his cleft palate was absolutely disgraceful. I am no longer a fan. As a mother, you should know better. The amount of young children navigating difficulties like that while you sit on a worldwide stage mocking it. Do better,” Ditcheva wrote on X.
Dakota Ditcheva is the Future of Women’s MMA
Ditcheva is just 27 years old and has amassed a perfect 15-0 record in MMA. The Brit has a 10-0 record in PFL and has won two women’s flyweight tournaments in the promotion. Many MMA fans would love to see her fight in the UFC in the future, but right now, she is locked under a long-term deal with PFL, so she will be fighting in that promotion for at least the near future.
However, while Rousey is the past of women’s MMA, Ditcheva is the future. She has looked amazing her entire career in the sport, and she is still constantly getting better. Training at one of the best gyms in the sport, American Top Team, the sky is the limit for Ditcheva. While she is in PFL for now, don’t be surprised if one day Ditcheva ends up in the UFC, where she will try to chase Rousey’s records in the women’s weight classes.
On Saturday night, Rousey returns to MMA after a decade away when she battles Carano in the headliner of MVP MMA on Netflix. It’s a massive event for the sport, as it brings in a new MMA promoter to a sport that needs competition for the UFC. If this event is a success, look for MVP MMA to run more events on Netflix in the future.
MVP MMA: Rousey vs. Carano takes place on Saturday at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, and the main card airs live on Netflix at 9 p.m. ET, with prelims starting at 6 p.m. ET.
Dakota Ditcheva Rips Ronda Rousey For Her Chimaev Comments