Former UFC fighter turned analyst Din Thomas thinks the UFC should trade off Magomed Ankalaev for PFL star Dakota Ditcheva.
Trades between MMA organizations are extremely rare. In fact, it's only happened once. In October 2018, the UFC sent former flyweight king Demetrious Johnson to ONE Championship in exchange for Ben Akren. Now, Thomas thinks it's time for the the UFC to initiate another trade, this time sending it's reigning light heavyweight champion over to Donn Davis and Co. in exchange for their British bombshell.
We gotta understand that MMA is a star-driven sport," Thomas said on The Casuals MMA podcast back in February. "We have a star problem in the UFC. [PFL] got Dakota Ditcheva, who's a star. I'm like, 'Yo, please listen, if you guys like MMA, do this for MMA. Trade her to the UFC, you know she belongs in the UFC.' Just trade, listen, get rid of Ankalaev in the UFC, trade her for Ankalaev, we don't need Ankalaev, you know what I'm saying.
Of course, Thomas' comments came before Ankalaev unseated Alex Pereira as the UFC light heavyweight champion, though his victory did little to create excitement in the fledgling division.
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Meanwhile, Ditcheva continues to take the world MMA world by storm despite having a limited number of viable opponents to contend with under the PFL banner. After handily defeating Taila Santos—who once took Valentina Shevchenko to the limit—to win the 2024 PFL flyweight tournament, Ditcheva scored a decisive decision victory over Sumiko Inaba during the promotion's inaugural event in Cape Town, South Africa.
Given her 15-0 record and 80% finish rate inside the Smart Cage, it's clear that Ditcheva is ready for the next level of competition—something she's unlikely to get in the PFL.
As for Ankalaev, he'll put his gold up for grabs on October 4 when he runs it back with 'Poatan' at UFC 320 in Las Vegas. Ankalaev bested Pereira at UFC 313 after the Brazilian bruiser delivered an uncharacteristically lackluster performance in their light heavyweight headliner.
Ankalaev is currently trending as a 2-to-1 favorite to retain his title.