Dakota Ditcheva vs. Denise Kielholtz set for PFL: Road to Dubai

She's done quite well her last two trips to that part of the world, so Dakota Ditcheva almost certainly will be glad to step back in the cage in Dubai early next year.

Ditcheva (15-0), the PFL's 2024 women's flyweight tournament winner, will take on former Bellator Kickboxing champion Denise Kielholtz (8-5) at PFL: Road to Dubai, the promotion announced Monday.

PFL: Road to Dubai takes place Feb. 7 at Coca-Cola Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In the main event, lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov will put his title on the line against Alfie Davis. In the co-feature, the vacant welterweight title is on the line between Ramazan Kuramagomedov and Shamil Musaev.

Ditcheva, a 27-year-old Brit who trains at American Top Team, had two first-round knockouts in the 2024 regular season. In the semifinals, she knocked out Jena Bishop in the first, then a year ago this weekend hit the pinnacle, so far, of her MMA career when she stopped Taila Santos for a second-round TKO to win the 2024 tournament title.

In July, she got back in action at PFL Africa 1 and outworked former Bellator standout Sumiko Inaba, but it was the first time she had to go the distance for a win in the PFL. Prior to that, her nine fights under the PFL banner were stoppage wins.

It's been two years this week since Kielholtz most recently fought – coincidentally, a win over Inaba at Bellator 301, which was the promotion's swan song event. The Dutch kickboxing specialist fought for a Bellator title against Juliana Velasquez in July 2021, but lost a split decision. That started a three-fight skid, which stands as the only consecutive losses in her career.

In 2023, she had back-to-back decision wins over Paula Cristina and Inaba in Bellator. She was set to debut in the PFL in 2024 against Santos in the tournament, but withdrew – and Ditcheva went on to win it when she beat Santos.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Dakota Ditcheva vs. Denise Kielholtz set for PFL: Road to Dubai