PFL Europe 2 Review – Brits Shine in Newcastle

PFL Europe 2 is now one for the books at Newcastle were treated to a stella card on paper and luckily it played out the same. We have all of your live results live on MMASucka.com so be sure to check them out but we provide you with the highlights and standout performances. You can check out the MMASucka podcast which breaks down the full PFL Europe 2 card here:

PFL Europe 2 Main Event

Savannah Marshall, the boxing world champion finally made her long awaited debut against Brazil’s, Mirela Vargas. What was important for Marshall is that she was tested. We all knew going into the bout that she’d have a huge advantage in the stand-up game, especially in the boxing realm due to her background, but what would she be like adjusting to the MMA gloves? Could she handle the leg kicks? What if she got taken down?

Luckily, these questions were answered in her home city of Newcastle. Vargas did well when attacking the legs of Marshall, so it’s clear where she needs more training and that she needs to address it behind closed doors. She even addressed the issue in her post fight speech.

Her takedown defence held up relatively well, however, when she was taken down, she managed to intelligently get back to her feet, avoiding too many strikes and any potential submissions.

As we all know, she then did the business on the feet, getting Vargas out of their with a TKO in the first, presumably leading to a MMA rematch with Claressa Shields.

Dyer-ing for a Knockout

The knockout of the night, without a doubt went to 23 year old, Shanelle Dyer. England’s next great star and hot prospect extended her winning run to five straight and did so in fashion. Setting up the head kick, Dyer began to attack the legs early in the fight, backed her opponent up to the fence and struck whilst the iron was hot. A straight to the body brought the hands down of her opponent before the head kick sent her tumbling to the ground. A phenomenal knockout from the young, undefeated Dyer.

Shanelle Dyer knocks out Mariam Torchinava 👀🔥#PFLNewcastle | Live on DAZN pic.twitter.com/p28fRETmYK

— DAZN MMA (@daznmma) June 8, 2024

McGrillen-Evans Settles the Beef with a Win

Lewis McGrillen-Evans got back to winning ways with a unanimous decision victory in Newcastle. He clearly worked hard at defending the takedown pre-fight, managing to stay on his feet for the majority of the fight. He was a little too heavy in searching for the knockout, constantly shooting out power left hands, however, it’s something that he’ll certainly develop in the coming months of training. McGrillen-Evans and his opponent, Matiss Zaharovs squashed their beef after the fight, in what was a competitive bout.

Other Notable Performances

Kicking off the night we saw Paulina Wisniewska dominate Dee Begley to a second round TKO. In the same division, Lizzy Gevers lost a controversial decision to Karolina Wojcik.

Last year’s champion, Khurshed Kakhorov continued to dominate and recorded a brutal third-round knockout.

All in all, it was a solid card, with competitive fights and now we look ahead to Glasgow in September!