Dakota Ditcheva Explains Why Her Opinion on Ronda Rousey Changed

Dakota Ditcheva once held Ronda Rousey in high regard, considering her one of her heroes while aspiring to become a professional fighter. However, a single comment, which Ditcheva described as “disgraceful,” has permanently altered her perception of the UFC Hall of Famer. The situation arose in May when Rousey, in the process of promoting her return from retirement for a fight against Gina Carano under the MVP MMA banner, launched a strong criticism of former UFC champion Khamzat Chimaev. Chimaev had previously suggested that Rousey should express gratitude to the UFC for elevating her to superstardom, especially after she had spent considerable time publicly criticizing her former employers. In her reaction, Rousey made a dismissive remark about Chimaev, referring to him as “cleft lip Lincoln” and disparaging his wrestling-centric fighting style. Immediately following Rousey's comment, Ditcheva publicly condemned the remarks targeting Chimaev’s cleft palate and declared she was “no longer a fan” of Rousey, having admired her for many years. Now, as Ditcheva prepares for her own return fight in the PFL scheduled for July, she acknowledges that she would prefer not to continue criticizing Rousey. Nevertheless, she maintains she has no regrets about her initial statement, feeling that the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion had unnecessarily resorted to a low blow against Chimaev. “It did [change my opinion of her],” Ditcheva confirmed to MMA Fighting regarding Rousey. “I don’t want to keep bashing her. I said my point and that’s that. But it did disappoint me a little bit. I feel like I hopefully, touch wood, will always be the same person. “I don’t feel like you have to cross any of those personal lines in order to get something good out of this sport. We’re already gifted so many good opportunities, we don’t need to act in this crazy way in order to get more.” Ditcheva expressed her belief that Rousey was already guaranteed significant attention upon her return, marking her first fight in 10 years and an attempt to re-enter the win column after suffering two devastating knockout losses that concluded her career in 2016. However, a substantial portion of Rousey’s pre-fight promotion was dedicated to criticizing the UFC, culminating in a highly personal insult directed at Chimaev. Although Chimaev himself did not issue a significant response to Rousey's remarks, Ditcheva found it regrettable that a fighter as prominent as Rousey would employ such a personal attack in retaliation to comments made about her. “I feel like for me, her coming back was massive,” Ditcheva elaborated. “I feel like she has enough accolades to just come back and win your fight without having to talk that way. I feel like now she’s gone out worse than other people made out for me, which is sad. “But she did a great thing with MVP, and I don’t want to keep bashing her, but yeah, that comment was not OK for me at all.” Ditcheva has observed comparable tactics employed by other high-profile UFC figures, such as Conor McGregor, who engaged in extensive personal attacks targeting Dustin Poirier's wife in the lead-up to their trilogy bout in 2021. While those actions also troubled Ditcheva, Rousey was an individual whom Ditcheva personally looked up to. The impact of that single remark has profoundly reshaped her feelings about the former UFC champion. “That’s what a lot of people have been coming back at me [with], ‘Oh you didn’t say anything about this person, you didn’t say anything about them,’” Ditcheva recounted. “I’m like I know but Ronda was somebody I looked up to. As a woman, as well, I felt like I wanted to say something. “But I don’t agree with any of that stuff either, but I feel like Ronda shouldn’t have come down to that level. I feel like she should have stuck where she was. She was high up, she achieved so much, and I don’t feel like she needed to come down to their level and be that person.”