Throughout the history of MMA, trading fighters has brought a level of excitement and interest to the sport that has altered the complexion of divisions and shed new light on narratives. The last major trade of note was when Demetrious Johnson moved to ONE Championship, and subsequently Ben Askren came to the UFC. Din Thomas earlier suggested sending Magomed Ankalaev to PFL in exchange for their star Dakota Ditcheva. Brendan Schaub has since backed the same idea, adding more weight to the buzz.

On his podcast, Schaub said Ankalaev, while a talented fighter, isn’t the kind of star the UFC can build around. He pointed out that Ankalaev struggles on the mic and often gets in the way of promoting other fighters. In contrast, Ditcheva has greater marketability and could attract more attention

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