Dakota Ditcheva re-injures both hands at PFL New York

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BELMONT PARK, NY - JULY 31: Dakota Ditcheva looks on before fighting Denise Kielholtz during PFL New York at the UBS Arena on July 31, 2026 in Belmont Park, New York. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images) | Getty Images Dakota Ditcheva has another layoff ahead of her. In July, Ditcheva returned to the cage after a year-long absence, winning a decision over Denise Kielholtz at PFL New York. Ditcheva’s long layoff was, in part, due to breaking her hands. And now, she’s done it again. On Sunday, Ditcheva posted a video to her YouTube channel revealing that she re-broke both her hands in her fight at PFL New York. “Breaking news: I am injured again,” Ditcheva said. “I broke my hands in the fight. I could feel it from the second I started the second round. I didn’t tell my corner. I didn’t tell anybody. I didn’t show it this time, and I didn’t actually tell anybody until I got out of the cage. … “I am back in splints until my surgeon has decided what the next steps are going forward, which will be in the next few days.” This is an unfortunate setback for Ditcheva, who appeared to be on a collision course with PFL flyweight champion Liz Carmouche, hopefully later this year. Now, that timeline has been thrown into question. But Ditcheva says there is a silver lining to the whole thing: this isn’t a new problem. “The good thing is I have no new breaks,” Ditcheva explained. “It’s just that, I explained the hand that wasn’t operated on originally that I broke at the end of last year; I was told that if I didn’t go ahead with the surgery at that time, there was a possibility that it would break again in my fight. And unfortunately, I took the risk in not doing the surgery because I was hoping that it would hold strong without intervening with that kind of thing – and it didn’t. “So, it’s no new injury. That is kind of the positives I’m taking from it. … It was a choice of mine to have the surgery the first time, and I didn’t. So therefore, I’m paying the price for it now, and I will be out for a little bit. It is what it is. I’m going to move forward. I have honestly cried nonstop the last week.” There’s no timeline on how long Ditcheva may be forced out of action due to her latest injury, and for now, all she can do is hope that this time goes faster than the last one. “I will be back,” Ditcheva said. “This is not going to take me out. My career is not done. Although it felt like that once again, I will be back. I’m hopefully going to be back quicker than I was last time.” TOP STORIES He just lost. ‘Ilia Topuria would f*cking annihilate 100% of your roster’: Manager fires back at rival. Knee. 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