Dakota Ditcheva’s path to PFL gold just got more intriguing with the arrival of two former UFC standouts in her division.
The undefeated British striker dominated the inaugural PFL women’s flyweight season in 2024, crushing Taila Santos in the final to cement her status as the face of the weight class. While speculation swirled about a future move to the UFC to face legends like Valentina Shevchenko, Ditcheva shut it down by re-signing with the PFL this summer. Critics questioned the depth of competition available to her, but the promotion has moved quickly to strengthen the roster.
Brazilian veterans Viviane Araujo and Ariane Lipski da Silva are the newest additions to PFL’s 125-pound division. Araujo (13-7) spent six years ranked among the UFC’s flyweight elite, with wins over Karine Silva, Jennifer Maia and Roxanne Modafferi. Lipski (17-11), nicknamed the “Queen of Violence”, is a former KSW champion known for highlight-reel submissions, including her infamous kneebar against Luana Carolina in 2019.
Both fighters will aim to test Ditcheva, who has collected both the PFL Europe and PFL Global titles and is a frontrunner to capture the inaugural divisional belt.
The signings were confirmed just days before PFL Champions Series 3 in Dubai, headlined by the lightweight title rematch between Usman Nurmagomedov and Paul Hughes. The event will also feature appearances from Corey Anderson, Sergio Pettis, and Caolan Loughran, adding to one of the promotion’s deepest cards of the year.
