On November 16, 2020, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia imposed a travel ban against Shakuta ‘for an unspecified period’ due to his alleged involvement in the killing of peaceful protester Raman Bandarenka.

[5] Born in Minsk, Belarus, one of the strongest nations in Muay Thai practice worldwide, Dmitry started training in the sport at the age of 12 at the renowned Kick Fighter Gym under the tutelage of Evgeni Kotelnikov.

Shakuta challenged for the IKF International Kickboxing Federation Pro Muay Thai Junior Middleweight World title against Kongnapa on February 26, 2000 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.

He eventually won the IKF International Kickboxing Federation Pro Muay Thai Rules Super Welterweight World title when he defeated Pramuenrit Sithsaeng-a- run of Thailand by KO in Novosibirsk, Russia on June 29, 2000.

[11] Involvement with SuperLeague meant that Dmitry could regularly fight against some of the world's top fighters and over the three years he was with the organization until its demise in 2006 he would post an excellent six and one record with wins against the likes of Joerie Mes, Clifton Brown and Shane Chapman only being tempered by a surprise KO loss to Moises Baptista De Sousa.

After SuperLeague ceased to exist Shakuta's record meant that he would be snapped up by the up-and-coming Dutch promotion It's Showtime and he won his debut – a four-man tournament – with the organization early 2006.