Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

MMA world champion Dakota Ditcheva celebrates Christmas in Bulgaria

Photo: Facebook/DakotaDitcheva

MMA star Dakota Ditcheva spent the Christmas holidays in Bulgaria. The 26-year-old athlete wished her Facebook followers a Merry Christmas from the snow-covered resort of Borovets, as well as from Samokov, where she enjoyed a hearty Christmas meal of typical Bulgarian dishes with her relatives.

2024 was a very successful year for Dakota, who became flyweight world champion of the elite Professional Fighters League after knocking out Brazilian Taila Santos in the second round. This earned her the top prize of one million US dollars for the 2024 season. Dakota, who was born in England but is of Bulgarian descent, is currently the only undefeated mixed martial arts superstar. She is the daughter of former karate, Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion Lisa Howarth and Samokov-born Bulgarian Ivo Dichev, who is also involved in martial arts, writes gong.bg. 

As a result, the talented and charming Dakota always comes to her fights with both the Bulgarian and British flags. "My father is Bulgarian. I always wanted all my fans to know that. I have two nationalities. I'm half English. Half Bulgarian. I'm proud of that," Dicheva told The Sports Jungle YouTube channel recently.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Bulgaria wins 2–1 against Georgia in the final match of the World Cup qualifiers

The Bulgarian national football team won 2–1 against Georgia in the final match of the World Cup qualifiers in Group E. Georgi Rusev opened the score in the 10th minute. In the 24th minute, Filip Krastev scored Bulgaria’s second goal. Luka..

published on 11/19/25 8:50 AM

Commemoration for Bulgarian-born weightlifter Naim Suleymanoglu to be held in Istanbul

A day in memory of the late weightlifter Naim Suleymanoglu is to be held in Istanbul's Avcılar district on 18 November. Organised by the Balkan Turks Association and Avcılar Municipality, the ceremony will begin at 2 pm at Suleymanoglu’s grave in..

published on 11/18/25 8:05 AM

Dutch fighter knocks Bulgarian kickboxer out of K-1 Super Tournament

Bulgarian kickboxer Stoyan Koprivlenski failed to defend his 2024 title in the 70kg category at the K-1 World Max Super Tournament , held in Tokyo on 15 November. According to the tournament format, the title is awarded to the fighter who wins three..

published on 11/17/25 2:11 PM