Dyer targets knockout as Reed's low-guard style draws pre-fight warning at UFC Sacramento

Shanelle Dyer has put Elise Reed on notice, declaring the American strawweight “very susceptible to a knockout” ahead of their clash at UFC Sacramento on Saturday, Aug. 22 at Golden 1 Center.

Dyer (7-1) is coming off a commanding Octagon debut in March, when she stopped Ravena Oliveira by third-round TKO in London. The 25-year-old British prospect now faces Reed (8-5) in what will be her second UFC appearance, and she has been candid about exactly how she plans to finish the fight.

“Stylistically, this is a part of the matchup for me,” Dyer said in a pre-fight interview. “My opponent, she has a low guard taekwondo style. She is a kicker, but I am a better kicker. I have been working so much. I don’t want to give up a lot of my game plan away. But she’s very susceptible to a knockout.”

Dyer also stressed that she has been focused on finishing opponents rather than going the distance, noting that fighters do not get paid by the minute. The record backs that philosophy — five of her seven professional victories have come by knockout or technical knockout. Her only career defeat came against Ivana Petrovic in 2020, before she signed with the UFC.

Reed enters the bout in a more precarious position. The American is 4-5 inside the Octagon and has alternated between wins and losses throughout her UFC tenure, leaving her roster spot likely on the line this weekend. A loss to an unbeaten rising prospect would make her situation considerably harder to recover from.

For Dyer, a second consecutive finish would cement her reputation as one of the division’s most dangerous newcomers and set up a significant step up in competition in the strawweight rankings.