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Claressa Shields Using Conor McGregor’s Advice Ahead Of MMA Debut

Two-time Olympic Boxing gold medalist Claressa Shields says she appreciates and has been using some recent advice from Conor McGregor ahead of her professional MMA debut. This past December, McGregor commented on an Instagram post featuring Shields’ MMA training at Jackson Wink MMA, elaborating on some in depth MMA advice for the gold medalist. “Teach […]

Two-time Olympic Boxing gold medalist Claressa Shields says she appreciates and has been using some recent advice from Conor McGregor ahead of her professional MMA debut.

This past December, McGregor commented on an Instagram post featuring Shields’ MMA training at Jackson Wink MMA, elaborating on some in depth MMA advice for the gold medalist.

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“Teach her balancing on the single leg first! Warm up / warm down for EVERY session – Pick the single leg and move her around. Elevate the leg high. Push her back with it. Lower it forward etc etc. Get her real cozy hopping on that single leg! Improve her hamstring flexibility as well as balancing ability. Crucial going forward! Have her play with her punching while balancing on the single also. Finding the target of the temple of the person moving her leg around! Think coziness! Good luck Clarissa! Excited to see you progress!”

Shields made noise in the MMA world when she signed with the PFL this past fall. She is expected to make her MMA debut later this year in late 2021. In a recent interview with Betway Insider, the reigning Olympic gold medalist said she appreciated the suggestions from McGregor and was utilizing them in her training.

“I just feel when Conor reached out, I feel like in a way he actually cared and he was wishing me good luck, and that’s what I appreciated most,” Shields said. “He didn’t have to give me any advice. He could have just seen it and kept on, but instead he was like, ‘I’m going to give out this advice,’ and it was great. I took it, I use it, and hopefully everything goes as it’s supposed to go.”

While Shields is currently preparing for a boxing bout with undefeated champion Marie-Eve Dicaire on March 5, she certaintly is looking forward to her MMA future in the PFL and beyond.

“I can’t wait to get back in the MMA gym,” Shields said. “The PFL have announced their lightweight division for the PFL league, and even though I’m trying so hard to not think about MMA, I had to look up every last one of them girls’ names. I had to. It just didn’t sit right with me not to.

“I had to look these girls up, I had to know who is in the tournament, what their record, what their background is, and I did a whole little background check on the list.”

Claressa is certainly one of the most anticipated MMA debuts in sometime. Only time will tell how far she can make it, but there is no doubt she has the skillset to make some real noise in the MMA world.

How do you think Claressa Shields will fare in MMA? Will she eventually make her way to the UFC?

Cris Cyborg Interested In Potential Kayla Harrison Matchup

Cris Cyborg has been at the top of the food chain in regards to women’s MMA since it’s inception. Whilst her loss to Amanda Nunes knocked her off the pedestal of WMMA Goat, she still holds a level of skill and power that few can replicate. Alternatively, Kayla Harrison is the one of the latest athletes to transition into the spirt of MMA. Harrison won gold at the 2012 Olympics in Judo, and currently holds an 8-0 record in MMA. With wins in both Invicta and the PFL, Harrison is rapidly making a name for herself. However, she currently fights at lightweight, a division that currently lacks a wide variety of talent in WMMA.

Cris Cyborg recently offered a potential answer to Harrisons search for worthy opposition, as reported by BJPENN. In an interview with James Lynch on The Catch Up, Cyborg was asked her thoughts on Harrison and a potential matchup between the two. The Bellator champ stated that “A couple fights I’ve seen her. I believe she’s fighting girls under or below her skill. The girls aren’t on her level. But she’s doing great, this is a strategy [by] her manager.”

She also remarked that “I believe this year she’s gonna fight for PFL, she’s gonna be in a tournament at 155 [pounds]. And if she becomes the champion of this tournament, for sure I would like to make a match with her that all the fans would like to watch. I would like to go to 155 before I retire. I want to help build the division and if she is young, let’s see if she would like to do a match, one real match for her.”

Cyborg is currently the Bellator featherweight champion, and is coming off a win against Arlene Blencowe. Harrison is coming off a one off Invicta fight, in which she finished Courtney King in the second round. Alternatively, multiple weight boxing champion Claressa Shields is another top level athlete who has recently transitioned to MMA. Shields has also stated that she would be interested in a matchup with Harrison in the future.

What are your thoughts on a potential Cyborg Harrison matchup?

Claressa Shields Opens Up On Brief Negotiations With The UFC

Penning a multi-fight deal with the PFL (Professional Fighters League) recently ahead of her long speculated foray into the world of mixed martial arts, decorated professional boxer, Claressa ‘T-Rex’ Shields has revealed she had held some negotiations with the UFC about possibly joining the roster last year. Shields, a native of Flint, Michigan is a […]

Shields, a native of Flint, Michigan is a two-time Olympic gold medalist in boxing and a multiple-time boxing world champion, establishing an undefeated 10-0 professional résumé.

The first of multiple high-profile signings for the Ray Sefo founded banner toward the end of this year, Shields penned a multi-fight deal with the outfit ahead of the acquisition of former UFC heavyweight champion and decorated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu player, Fabricio ‘Vai Cavalo’ Werdum, and former UFC and WEC lightweight best, Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis.

Set to continue her boxing career as well as prepare and compete in mixed martial arts, Shields, who had been continuously linked to both a boxing and mixed martial arts outing against two-weight UFC world champion, Amanda ‘The Lioness’ Nunes, revealed the UFC had come knocking, briefly last year offering her an almost ‘one-and-done’ type deal against a high-level competitor.

“It was just the conversation,” Shields said during a recent interview with MMA Junkie. “It was like, ‘Hey, come and train for a few months and then fight against the best girl that we have at your weight.’ “I think that’s unfair to me and it’s not giving me enough time to train. If you’re talking about letting me train for two years and then I’ll fight against the best girl you have. All right, cool. But the conversation with Dana (White) was almost like a one-fight deal a little bit.“

Shields continued where she noted her willingness to sign with the PFL due to their longterm plan for her, which allowed her to continue her boxing career as soon as February coming, as part of a three-year deal in which she’ll compete in the promotion’s tournament in 2022.

“With the PFL, it was ‘Let’s train, let’s start you at this level and work your way up’ and then I’ll have a chance to fight in the PFL tournament in 2022,” Shields explained. “And also I’ll still be able to box, so my boxing career isn’t just over because I’m doing MMA. I actually have a boxing match in February, it just hasn’t been announced yet. I still get to box and I’m not getting rushed. And it’s a lucrative deal and a lucrative conversation where it was a three-year deal. It’s not like, ‘Hey come over here fight two times and go back to boxing,’ I’m a conqueror and I’m a warrior so I want to put myself in a position to always win.” (MMA Junkie via MMAMania)

Whilst an opponent for Shields’ sure to be highly-anticipated mixed martial arts debut has yet to be set, the renowned puncher has hinted at her willingness to eventually stand opposite friend and fellow two-time Olympic gold medalist, Judoka standout, Kayla Harrison in the future.

Both under the same banner, Harrison recently headlined an Invicta FC card in November, making light work of Courtney King on her way to a second-round knockout win.

Harrison was scheduled to headline Titan FC 66 earlier this month in a rematch against Jozette Cotton until the main event clash was cancelled after the latter required hospitalization due to the effects of a severely botched weight cut.

Claressa Shields To Join Jackson Wink MMA Full Time

Claressa Shields’ commitment to being the best MMA athlete she can be is growing by the week, and she is now prepared to take a major step to further along that process. Olympic boxing gold medalist Clarissa Shields recently decided to make the transit…

Claressa Shields Backs Jon Jones To Succeed As Heavyweight Boxer

Undisputed middleweight champion in boxing and new PFL signing Claressa Shields has backed Jon Jones to be successful should he choose to transition to heavyweight boxing. Shields has been training with Jones ahead of her eagerly anticipated MMA debut. The 25-year-old signed with the Professional Fighters League last month and has been working hard at […]

Undisputed middleweight champion in boxing and new PFL signing Claressa Shields has backed Jon Jones to be successful should he choose to transition to heavyweight boxing.

Shields has been training with Jones ahead of her eagerly anticipated MMA debut. The 25-year-old signed with the Professional Fighters League last month and has been working hard at the world-famous Jackson-Wink MMA Academy in Albuquerque, New Mexico

After spending “countless hours” training with Jones, Shields insists she is confident with the right training the former UFC light-heavyweight champion could be a dangerous division to the boxings heavyweight division which is currently ruled by British duo Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.

“I can see Johnny Bones making a transition from MMA to boxing. Heavyweight boxing,” Shields told Heavy.com. “That’s what I see. I don’t see WWE. To me, that’s more like a clown show, the WWE. Johnny Bones is a serious person especially when it comes to training and his teaching. We’ve had two classes where I spent countless hours with Johnny Bones and he was teaching me and breaking stuff down that looked so complex, but breaking it down into 1-2-3-4, breaking it down into steps from the beginning. So I look at him as a serious guy. So if I was to show (Jones) what I know in boxing and show me what he knows in MMA, I believe that when he learns these simple basics with his hands and how to stand. Aw man. I think he would be so freakin’ dangerous in boxing because he’s really just, inside that cage. I mean, we all seen it. He’s a dangerous guy.”

Jones is currently preparing to step up to heavyweight for the first time in his impressive MMA career. ‘Bones’ is in the bulking up stage and will likely face the winner of Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou II for UFC gold in summer 2021.

Do you agree with Claressa Shields? Could Jon Jones successfully transition to heavyweight boxing?

Archives: Shields Vows To Prove Boxers Can Succeed In MMA (2020)

On this day one year ago, we ran a story about Claressa Shields’ insistence that she will be the individual to prove that boxers can succeed in MMA. One year later, her record sits at 1-1, with Shields losing her most recent bout to Abigail Montes at …

Although it cannot be denied that Shields suffered a setback and has much work to do before she can be successful in her mission, she has let it be known that she will not be deterred by her first defeat.

Here is a look back at Shields’ mindset before she ever stepped foot into an MMA cage in this story published one year ago. The following article is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.

[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED DECEMBER 26, 2020, 10:54 AM]

Headline: Claressa Shields Vows To Prove Boxers Can Succeed In MMA

PFL newcomer and boxing world champion Claressa Shields is eager to prove that boxers can indeed be successful in MMA.

Some would say that there is a common perception that boxers do not have what it takes to be successful at the highest level of MMA. Case in point, just ask anybody what Floyd Mayweather’s chances would have been against Conor McGregor in an MMA bout. Whether a casual fan or a hardcore MMA aficionado, odds are you would get a response of McGregor being at least a -1000 favorite after the person scoffed at the very question.

This belief is further perpetuated by the precedent of one James Toney, a former boxing heavyweight champion who attempted to cross over into MMA, only to get submitted in the first round of his lone MMA fight. This has served as a precautionary tale for boxers ever since.

But now, there’s Claressa Shields, an Olympic boxing gold medalist who is venturing into MMA full time in the Professional Fighters League. Shields feels that it goes beyond a perception that boxers can’t cut it in MMA but that it is a full-blown myth, one that she cannot wait to burst.

“Listen, I’m excited and I’m just ready to prove everybody wrong,” Shields told MMA Fighting. “Not everybody but all the doubters. It seems like everybody keeps saying like ‘oh anybody that’s come from boxing can’t be successful in MMA.’

“Like they say look at James Toney, and I kind of laugh cause James Toney was 42 years old. I’m 25. He was also 42 years old and he went in there, I don’t know how long he prepared but he fought against one of the best guys that they had. It’s not that I wouldn’t do that, but I’m preparing. I’m taking it one step at a time.”

It is true that James Toney’s submission loss came to a UFC Hall of Famer (Randy Couture) and that he was indeed 42 years old at the time. Claressa Shields, on the other hand, is only 25 years of age and is arguably the best female boxer in the world. And most importantly, unlike Toney, Shields is fully invested in putting in the work to becoming a complete mixed martial artist.

“I’m not an egotistic person,” Shields said. “I am the best woman’s fighter in the world. There is no other woman fighter in boxing that can beat me in boxing, for sure. But going over to a whole other sport and saying that, it’s just not true now. I have to work my way up from the bottom and learn and train and drill.”

Claressa Shields plans to begin her mythbusting expedition around May or June of 2021 in a non-tournament fight in the PFL.

Do you believe there is a myth that boxers can’t cut it in MMA and that Claressa Shields will debunk it?

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