EXCLUSIVE | Shanelle Dyer Reveals Reason For Signing With PFL Ahead of Debut in Paris

British prospect Shanelle Dyer has revealed her reason for signing with PFL ahead of her promotional debut this weekend in Paris.

Dyer, currently undefeated as a pro, made her professional debut earlier this year after a very successful Muay Thai and amateur MMA career. Then, two first-round finishes on the regional scene prompted the rising organisation to give the 22-year-old a contract.

She will make her PFL debut on September 30 in the French capital, opening the third PFL Europe event of the year.

Dyer discussed signing for the seasonal organisation in an exclusive interview with Combat Sports UK.

She said: “A lot of organisations came knocking at my door but we didn’t wanna sign with them. But what PFL came with, I really couldn’t say no to that.

“I’m only 22 years old so I kinda have time on my side, so I really wanna grow as a fighter and within PFL I can grow as a fighter. That’s one of the aspects that made me [want] to sign with them.

“I’m the first fight in Paris, I’m gonna be on the undercard in Dublin, I’m gonna be in the European tournament next year and then I can move on to America and do even bigger things, be on the pay-per-view.

“I can really see me growing in [the] PFL and they’re going to give me favourable matchups to grow me as a fighter. They’re not gonna chuck me down in the deep end against one of their world-class [fighters] that’ve had 30-plus fights, they’re gonna grow me as a fighter – that’s one thing I really need. I don’t wanna rush anything and I’m not rushing in PFL, so that’s why I chose PFL ultimately.”

Dyer Discusses ‘Nightmare’ Nickname, Pays Tribute to Former Teammate

Aptly nicknamed ‘The Nightmare’, the Londoner has vicious striking – proven in her young career thus far.

However, the story behind her nickname is a heartbreaking one. Dyer’s training partner and close friend, Jahreau Shepherd, was murdered by his half-brother at his 30th birthday party in 2020.

Shepherd, also nicknamed ‘The Nightmare’, was making his way as an MMA pro on the regional scene before his life was tragically cut short.

Dyer said: “‘The Nightmare’ was my older brother figure, Jahreau Shepherd’s name, unfortunately, he passed away just over three years [ago] now.

“He was a really big staple in my early career, I didn’t really know that I was going to go into MMA but seeing him train in the gym – I really looked up to him as an older brother figure, I loved him in the gym, his energy. Literally, he would come in the door and then everyone would light up, he was one of the biggest hype-men and he was one of my biggest supporters as well.

“He was in his professional career, a lot on the domestic side [but] he was really going to be [known] internationally and he was one of the biggest prospects in the UK.

“Unfortunately his life got taken away from him and he was ‘The Nightmare’ and we shared the same dream. We were gonna be the best fighters in the world, we always used to talk about it. He can’t live out his dream so I took on the responsibility to bring both of us to the top and that’s what I’m doing.”