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

Aleksandar Vezenkov

Aleksandar Vezenkov could play in front of Bulgarian fans if Hapoel Tel Aviv brings EuroLeague games to Sofia

Israeli basketball club Hapoel Tel Aviv has officially announced plans to host its home games for the 2025/2026 EuroLeague season in Sofia , the capital of Bulgaria, sports website Sportal.bg reports. The move comes as the team suspends participation in..

published on 6/26/25 2:22 PM
Nurgyul Salimova (R)

Three Bulgarian chess players to compete for the title at the FIDE Women’s World Cup in Georgia

The draw for the FIDE Women’s World Cup, which begins on July 5 in Batumi (Georgia), has been finalized. Among the 107 competitors are three Bulgarian chess players — Nurgyul Salimova, Antoaneta Stefanova and Nadya Stefanova. In 2023,..

published on 6/25/25 11:14 AM

Bulgaria tops medal standings at the Rhythmic Gymnastics Junior World Championships in Sofia

Bulgaria topped the medal standings at the 3rd FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics Junior World Championships in Sofia. The team won a total of six medals – four gold and two bronze ones. The Bulgarian gymnasts became world champions in the..

published on 6/24/25 10:03 AM