Last night, the PFL returned for their fourth event of the 2024 regular season. The heavyweights and women’s flyweight divisions took center stage as fighters were looking to punch their tickets to the playoffs. In the featured women’s flyweight matchup, Dakota Ditcheva (12-0) took on Chelsea Hackett (4-3-1).
Ditcheva had the top seed after a first round finish in her first performance of the regular season. The second performance looked very similar as she rank through Hackett scoring another first round finish and securing the maximum amount of points you could achieve with 12.
Before Ditcheva fought, Bellator flyweight champ Liz Carmouche (22-7) took on Kana Watanabe (13-3-1) in a rematch. Carmouche ran through her the first time, but this second fight was much different. Watanabe won the first two rounds and nearly submitted Carmouche at the end of the second round.
Carmouche went all out in the third trying to secure a spot in the PFL playoffs. She dropped Watanabe but during a scramble, Watanabe ended up on top. Carmouche kept attacking from the bottom, but it looked like Watanabe was going to hold on. Then, out of no where, Carmouche locked in an armbar and won by submission with only eight seconds left in the round. That win earned her a spot in the PFL playoffs.
PFL Playoffs
Before Carmouche fought, we saw a very close fight between Taila Santos (21-3) and Jena Bishop (7-1). Both ladies had big moments in this fight and Bishop really came on strong in the third round to make things close. However, Santos had done enough to bank the first two rounds on two of the judges scorecard.
Santos won a split decision to get her to nine points overall. That said, Bishop’s first round finish from earlier this season which netted her six points was still enough to earn her a spot in the playoffs. As things stand, here are the matchups for the PFL Playoffs:
- Dakota Ditcheva – Jena Bishop
- Taila Santos – Liz Carmouche