When Dakota Ditcheva turned the primary British girl to win an MMA world title, she had no concept of the frustration that might comply with.

After the 26-year-old’s historic win over Taila Santos within the PFL flyweight remaining – her fourth victory in a golden 2024 – she had all of the momentum.

Congratulations poured in from icons of girls’s MMA, together with Amanda Nunes, Cris Cyborg and Joanna Jedrzejczyk, however quickly the narrative would develop.

The query beginning to type on all people’s lips after that career-high second in November was “what’s subsequent?”.

Ditcheva was able to battle anybody, however the dominant means through which she had dispatched her opponents – together with three first-round stoppages and one within the second spherical – meant there have been no worthy challengers left within the promotion.

“Clearly, with me strolling by way of them final 12 months it is made it troublesome,” Ditcheva tells BBC Sport.

“It is undoubtedly irritating. I did so effectively final 12 months – I fought within the cage 4 instances and clearly the final one was an enormous one and drew a number of consideration, however now I felt like my momentum had form of dropped off.

“Santos was the highest lady within the division and the very fact I walked by way of her so simply is one other factor which made this 12 months so troublesome. They [the PFL] did not know which path to place me in.”