A bout with Cris Cyborg would be a possibility "some point in the future" for Dakota Ditcheva, says Dan Hardy ahead of PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants live on DAZN Pay-Per-View.
The former makes their long-awaited return to the cage On Saturday on the undercard of Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
It comes after Briton Ditcheva moved to an impressive 11-0 professional record in August, to set up a 2024 PFL Women's Flyweight final against Taila Santos.
| Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Ferreira | Heavyweight world title |
| Cris Cyborg vs. Larissa Pacheco | Women's featherweight world title |
| Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards | Bellator middleweight world title |
| Husein Kadimagomaev vs. Zafar Mohsen | Featherweight |
| AJ McKee vs. Paul Hughes | Lightweight |
| Raufeon Stots vs. Marcos Breno | Bantamweight |
| Makkasharip Zaynukov vs. Dedrek Sanders | Lightweight |
| Ibragim Ibragimov vs. Nacho Campos | Featherweight |
| Mostafa Rashed Nada vs. Ahmed Sami | Middleweight |
| Tariq Ismail vs. Taha Bendaoud | Featherweight |
Asked whether the potential for a match with either Cyborg or Pacheco could materialise sooner rather than later though, Hardy admitted it would likely be a long way off.
"I think Dakota has got a long and exciting career ahead of her," he told DAZN. "She’s at flyweight now, but I could see her moving up to featherweight at some point in the future.
"She’s still young enough in her career right now. I think if she does cross paths with one of these two ladies, it’s probably going to be in four or five years.
"I think she’s got some really exciting fights to have between now and then. If she beats Taila Santos, it would be the biggest win of her career by a long way."
Santos presents a formidable challenge for Ditcheva, but the Briton will know another impressive showing can boost her chances for a clash with one of the greats.
Cyborg meanwhile arrives in Saudi Arabia on the back of a comfortable victory last October against Cat Zingano at Bellator 300.
Watch Ngannou vs. Ferreira on DAZN
Watch Francis Ngannou's return to the cage as he faces Renan Ferreira in the PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants this Saturday on DAZN Pay-Per-View.
The card also features Cris Cyborg against Larissa Pacheco for the women's featherweight world title.
The PPV is priced at £19.99 for UK viewers to watch on any device, including Smart TV's, game consoles, phones, tablets and PC's.
To purchase and find the prices in your region click here.
Purchasing the PPV includes a seven-day free trial of all of DAZN's programming across a range of sports.
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