PFL is bringing back numerous major players for their upcoming flyweight tournament, although the lineup is without their biggest name at 125 pounds currently.
The full eight-woman roster for PFL’s upcoming flyweight World Tournament was revealed on Tuesday, showing that three of the four 2024 playoff fighters will be coming back one again with hopes of earning a title.
However, missing from the lineup is 2024 PFL Flyweight Champion Dakota Ditcheva, who sliced through four opponents in eight months to remain undefeated and claim her first major MMA belt.
The announcement means flyweight is following in the footsteps of featherweight and welterweight—both of which had their lineups revealed recently—by not having the 2024 champ appear in the upcoming tournament. It’s currently unclear whether it’s a decision PFL has made for all eight of their upcoming brackets.
Without Ditcheva, PFL still has many recognizable names returning to compete in the upcoming season. The full lineup announced recently included: Taila Santos, Liz Carmouche, Kana Watanabe, Juliana Velasquez, Jena Bishop, Elora Dana, Ilara Joanne, and Diana Avsaragova.
Here’s a quick rundown of everyone set to compete later this year:
Taila Santos: A former UFC title challenger returning after making it to the finals in 2024. Santos went on a three-fight winning streak last year—notably beating a trio of names who return for the 2025 bracket—but came up short against Dakota Ditcheva in the finals, getting stopped in the second round with strikes.
Liz Carmouche: The current Bellator Flyweight Champion, who will be trying to bounce back from her first PFL defeat when she appears later this year. Carmouche had a streak of nine wins stopped in the 2024 semi-finals, losing to Taila Santos on scorecards.
Kana Watanabe: Japan’s Watanabe is returning for a second PFL season. After beating Shanna Young via decision, Watanabe’s 2024 run came to an end in the regular season after being on the losing side of a comeback performance from Liz Carmouche.
Juliana Velasquez: Former Bellator Flyweight Champion who snapped a three-fight losing streak with a stoppage win over Lisa Mauldin last year. While the victory broke Velasquez’s only slew of losses as a pro, it didn’t do enough to get her into the PFL playoffs last year.
Jena Bishop: U.S. regional stand-out Bishop made it to the playoffs last year despite having a record of just eight pro fights. An early-season first-round win against Chelsea Hackett confirmed her playoff spot early in the year. She later lost fights to Taila Santos and 2024 champ Dakota Ditcheva.
Elore Dana: The sole fighter in the 2025 flyweight lineup who is entering without any Bellator or PFL experience. Dana has dominated the Brazilian regionals since 2022, racking up seven wins and going on a three-bout title run in Jungle Fight recently. MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz wrote last month that Dana was within the “Top 10 Brazilian prospects to watch in 2025.”
Ilara Joanne: The long-time Bellator vet went one-for-two in her first PFL year, losing a fight to Taila Santos and later beating Shanna Young on scorecards. She could receive the chance to avenge past losses against Santos, Jena Bishop, or Kana Watanabe as part of the possible bracket matchups.
Diana Avsaragova: Russia’s Avsaragova is returning to action as part of the upcoming season. The multi-year Bellator talent is coming back after having her six-fight undefeated record snapped in 2023, losing to UFC vet Justine Kish
Knockdown News 