The decision to sign Shanelle Dyer in 2023 has afforded the Professional Fighters League a front-row seat to watch the undefeated prospect’s rapid development.
While Dyer only has five pro mixed martial arts bouts under her belt, she does not lack polish.
“I’ve had a lot of amateur fights and a lot of amateur experience,” Dyer told Sherdog.com in June. “I started muay thai when I was about 9 years old, and between the ages of 9 to 18, I had about 100, 150-plus muay thai fights. I’m really seasoned in my muay thai. I retired from muay thai professionally ranked No. 1 in the [United Kingdom]. My striking pedigree is really up there. I had 11 amateur MMA fights. I used to fight all the time. I used to fight at strawweight, at flyweight and everything in between just to get fights, because I really advocate to just gain experience. I would take fights at any weight class.
“I fought all the best girls because I wanted to gain a lot of experience,” she added. “I lost some fights and I won some great fights, so I’d be prepared when I turned pro, which I was.”
No one can argue with the results thus far, as Dyer has finished four of her first five opponents. She last appeared at PFL Europe 2, where she boosted her stock further, beefed up her highlight reel and cut down Mariam Torchinava with a head kick some four months ago. The end came 3:53 into Round 1.
“I predicted it was going to be a head kick knockout,” Dyer said at the post-fight press conference. “I don’t know why. I just had that feeling. I don’t think she even touched me once in that fight, to be fair. I wanted to make it an exciting fight. I think it was an exciting fight. I was on the front foot a majority of the time and controlled the whole fight. Yeah, it went to plan.”
Dyer trains out of Great Britain Top Team, where she hones her skills under the direction of World Extreme Cagefighting and Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Brad Pickett.
“He’s been there and done that,” Dyer said. “I’ve been working really a lot with him, because obviously coming from a striking background, my wrestling wasn’t really up to par. It’s basically a cheat code because everything I ask him, I know that he knows what he’s talking about. Everything he does actually works.”
Staying grounded in such a volatile sport remains a daily focus for Dyer, who seems to grasp the narrow margins on which all mixed martial artists operate.
“I know I have a lot of hype, but I always say to myself, ‘None of that matters, unless I win my next fight and the next fight and the next fight and the next fight,’” she said. “I’m not rich yet. I want to be rich, so I need to keep winning fights. I need to keep training. I need to keep beating people. That’s what I’m going to do.”