Dakota Ditcheva vs Denise Kielholtz: Fight date, venue, ring walk time, undercard, tale of the tape & more
Everything you need to know as Britain's Dakota Ditcheva returns to the cage against Denise Kielholtz in New York on 31 July.
Sporting a perfect record across her 15 professional fights Ditcheva is arguably the most talented female mixed martial artist to emerge from the UK and is ranked among the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport.
After emerging from the promotion's PFL Europe events, Ditcheva claimed the biggest win of her career against former UFC title challenger Talia Santos via second-round stoppage in November 2024, winning that year's PFL women's flyweight tournament in the process.
Since then however the 27-year-old has competed just once - defeating Sumiko Inaba by decision in July of last year - with injuries delaying her return to competition.
In Kielholtz, Ditcheva faces an experienced former professional kickboxer currently riding a three-fight win streak inside the cage.
The pair had originally been scheduled to meet in February before an injury to Ditcheva saw the bout postponed, and they will now feature in New York as the chief support for the lightweight title showdown between Usman Nurmagomedov and Archie Colgan.
Dakota Ditcheva vs Denise Kielholtz - All you need to know
Date: | Friday 31st July 2026 |
Fight: | Dakota Ditcheva vs Denise Kielholtz |
Approx Ring Walk Time: | 00:00 Saturday 1st August (BST) |
Weight Class: | Women's flyweight |
Titles: | N/A |
Referee: | N/A |
Promoters: | PFL |
Venue: | UBS Arena, New York, USA |
TV Channel: | TBC |
Fight Date
The women's flyweight showdown between Dakota Ditcheva and Denise Kielholtz will take place on the PFL New York card on Friday the 31st of July, with the fight likely to get underway in the early hours of Saturday the 1st of August for UK fans.
Ring Walks & Fight Time
While fight times are yet to be announced for PFL New York, we can estimate based on previous events that the five round lightweight main event will get underway around 00:00 BST in the UK (21:00 EDT local time).
Venue
The full PFL New York card will take place at the 17,000-capacity UBS Arena in Elmont, New York.
The venue opened in 2021 and serves as the home of New York Islanders of the National Hockey League.
Tale of the Tape
Dakota Ditcheva | Denise Kielholtz | |
Record: | 15-0 | 9-5 |
Age: | 27 | 37 |
Birthplace: | Manchester, UK | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
Height: | 5′ 9″ / 174cm | 5′ 3″ / 160cm |
Stance: | Orthodox | Orthodox |
Last Fight: | Win (UD) vs Sumiko Inaba (Jul 26) | Won (UD) vs Antonia Silvaneide (Feb 26) |
Finish%: | 86.66% | 55.55% |
Alias: | 'Dangerous' | 'Miss Dynamite' |
Full fight card
Usman Nurmagomedov vs Archie Colgan - PFL Lightweight title
Dakota Ditcheva vs Denise Kielholtz - Women's flyweight
* More fights to be announced
