‘It will only get worse’ – Ditcheva on social media abuse

Dakota Ditcheva says her fear of social media abuse will only worsen as she gains experience in combat.

The 27-year-old has more than 300,000 Instagram followers, making her one of the most instantly recognisable female faces in MMA.

Ditcheva claims he has stopped reading comments on her posts as social media platforms and governments continue to do more to protect users, particularly female athletes. He claims she is used to going viral for her knockouts.

As a sports athlete, Ditcheva says, “Hate is a given in this sport, and it’s so upsetting to have to accept that and be prepared for that,” and it’s something I’ve kind of been doing.

“My mother keeps ensuring that I’m not reading certain things, and she’s putting me off reading them.” I’m fortunate to have access to my parents and siblings.

Ditcheva has previously openly discussed the sexual harassment she encounters on social media, and her mother recently received a call from a man who claimed to be in love with her.

A certain person messaged my mother and said they were speaking, and that their message indicated that they were in love and that they were dating, and it became very obsessive.

“It kind of freaked me out and got really intense, like what they were typing.” My mother helped me deal with that, which kind of explains what these people are going to be doing, and I was fortunate.

Female athletes are not new to sending obsessive and dangerous messages.

Katie Boulter, a tennis star, spoke to BBC Sport about the abuse and death threats she’s received online.

Lisa Howarth, Ditcheva’s mother, is a multiple-time world champion in kickboxing. At fights, Ditcheva’s brother is frequently present.

PFL fighter Ditcheva traveled to South Africa last month to defeat Sumiko Inaba, despite breaking her hand in the fight.

Ditcheva typically stops using social media after fights, but she says a complete detox is not something she can afford.

Jess Carter, who revealed she had been the subject of racial abuse, was one of the Lionesses who took to Twitter during their successful Euro 2025 campaign.

The phrase “us fighters struggle with] switching off” “Ditcheva says, promotions don’t want us if we don’t keep posting, keep our accounts engaged, and we don’t build our name.”

If fighters weren’t required to practice during that crucial [fight] week, it would make a lot of difference.

Ditcheva echoed Boulter and others’ calls to implement identity verification as athletes speak out about the abuse and the government looks into further safety measures.

According to Ditcheva, “verification and having to upload your passport or other similar things would make it safer, and it would change everything.”