The meteoric rise of Dakota Ditcheva as part of the PFL’s Global women’s flyweight roster is certainly one to praise, and for some fighters, to hope to follow. When Shanelle Dyer steps back inside the PFL SmartCage in Newcastle, she will look to follow a similar path as Ditcheva.
Bringing a championship pedigree from her kickboxing and Muay Thai days, Dyer watched from afar as Ditcheva won the PFL Europe tournament last year, then moved to the Global roster in 2024, and has been one of the marquee stars thus far.
Ahead of her fight against Mariam Torchinava, Dyer spoke with Calf Kick Sports about her upcoming fight, a potential future fight against Ditcheva, and her plans to be on the 2025 PFL Global roster.
Seeing how the PFL has handled and managed Ditcheva in the early stages of her career, Dyer acknowledged that the company’s fighter-first mentality is why she signed with them.
“That’s exactly the reason why I signed with the PFL in the first place. Because I think PFL wanted to sign me after my first pro fight. What other organization wants to sign a 1-0 pro? No other promotion wants to do that. What PFL does, they see potential [in a fighter] and they want to help build you and grow you into a world class fighter.”
As for her current plans, Dyer didn’t hesitate to let it be known she plans to follow the same path as Ditcheva.
“100% that’s the plan. I’m going to win the European season this year, 100%, there’s no one on the roster that’s beating me. The only person who can beat me this year is myself. Then I’ll go over to America next year and I want to fight the best fighters. I look at the season this year in America and I want to test myself.”
The test for Shanelle Dyer begins in Newcastle, and if things go to according to her plan, she will continue to add accolades and titles to her resume. Watch the video above for the full interview with Dyer.
Calf Kick Sports 