Professional Fighters League prospect Shanelle Dyer is following the wisdom of Fleetwood Mac: “Go your own way.”
Entering the 2024 PFL Europe semifinals, Shanelle Dyer (5-0) is aiming to establish herself as a new star, independent of fellow undefeated British talent Dakota Ditcheva. In 2023, Ditcheva ran through her flyweight bracket at PFL Europe, and Dyer plans to do the same. She faces Valentina Scatizzi (3-2) at the PFL Europe 3 Playoffs on Sept. 28 in her home country of the United Kingdom, and bettors have installed her as a massive favorite.
Dyer, a muay thai practitioner who made the transition into MMA and turned pro in 2023, has already competed twice under the PFL banner. Her first appearance came in a non-tourney tilt against Luisa Fernanda Cifuentes, and her performance earned an invitation to the 2024 PFL Europe bracket. Speaking to the media before facing Scatizzi, Dyer was well aware of the comparison to Ditcheva. Paying respect to the 13-0 fighter, Dyer made it clear that she plans to pave her own path to the PFL global stage.
“She won the European season last year and I’m going to win it this year, hopefully she’ll win the PFL global season this year,” Dyer remarked. “I’m going to try and do the same thing next year. I’m trying to obviously emulate what she’s doing because she killed it last year and I’m going to kill it this year. Then we are both going to be double [Europe and global] champs at the end of this.”
With four knockouts on her five-win ledger, “The Nightmare” plans on keeping pace with the Ditcheva. “Dangerous Dakota” sports 11 knockouts, and 12 stoppages overall, on her 13-fight resume.
“I think she’s got 11 knockouts, so I want to keep my knockout streak, I’m 5-0 with four knockouts so I want to keep that knockout streak as well as I can,” she remarked.
Ditcheva has since smashed her way through the PFL global women’s flyweight season, claiming first-round stoppages to punch her ticket to the million-dollar finals. Receiving plenty of criticism throughout her first year with the PFL global roster, the 26-year-old from Manchester, England, decided to leave no doubt by dispatching anyone the matchmakers set in front of her. Watching Ditcheva’s success like a hawk, a win for Dyer would seat her in the PFL Europe finals, where she could attempt to replicate the success of Ditcheva.
