Claressa Shields: MMA Treats Women Better Than Boxing Does

Claressa Shields believes that there is a noticeable difference in how women are treated in MMA versus their treatment in boxing, and this played a role in her decision to sign with the Professional Fighters League. Since the UFC opened up its women’s …

Claressa Shields believes that there is a noticeable difference in how women are treated in MMA versus their treatment in boxing, and this played a role in her decision to sign with the Professional Fighters League. Since the UFC opened up its women’s bantamweight division in 2012 with other female divisions to follow in the […]

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Claressa Shields Explains Decision To Sign With The PFL, Eyes Future Fight With Kayla Harrison

ShieldsDecorated boxing world champion and two-time Olympic gold medal winner, Claressa ‘T-Rex’ Shields made major waves across the mixed martial arts community last night, as she put pen to paper on a deal to transition from the squared-circle, under the banner of the PFL (Professional Fighters League). The 10-0 Flint, Michigan native claimed gold at […]

Shields

Decorated boxing world champion and two-time Olympic gold medal winner, Claressa ‘T-Rex’ Shields made major waves across the mixed martial arts community last night, as she put pen to paper on a deal to transition from the squared-circle, under the banner of the PFL (Professional Fighters League).

The 10-0 Flint, Michigan native claimed gold at the London and Rio de Janeiro summer Olympic Games, and in a four-year professional career, has been unmatched. Claiming titles across the light, super, and middleweight divisions, Shields has held gold for the WBC, WBO, WBA, and IBF to name a few in that short time period.

Constantly linked with an eventual transition to mixed martial arts, the 25-year-old puncher follows in the recent footsteps of former UFC heavyweight champion, Fabricio Werdum who also inked a deal to link up with the Ray Sefo led promotion.

Floated as potential future opposition for both Bellator featherweight best, Cris Cyborg, and current UFC two-weight world champion, Amanda Nunes, Shields will, in fact, begin her journey in professional mixed martial arts in the same surrounding as a fellow two-time Olympic gold medalist, Judoka expert, Kayla Harrison. 

Failing to close the door on her professional career in boxing, Shields clarified that she’ll continue her career whilst honing her craft in mixed martial arts before an eventual debut.

I’m still gonna box and do MMA at the same time,” Shields told ESPN MMA reporter, Brett Okamoto, recently. “I could box in my sleep. That’s not something that I really have to worry about. I’m gonna spend a lot of time learning and just growing in MMA, but I’m still gonna accept my mandatory challenges in boxing. I’m gonna fight those girls. I’m gonna beat them, but I plan on having maybe two or three boxing matches and two to three MMA fights next year.“Delving into the reasoning for her move to MMA,

Shields explained how professional boxing doesn’t necessarily bring with it an equal playing field, particularly for female competitors.


“I feel like I’ve had fights in boxing that have captured the sports world, just women’s boxing isn’t treated equally,
” Shields explained. “Every MMA league, they have women fighters main event. The PFL give women a chance to fight for a million dollars just like they give men a chance to fight in a league for a million dollars. In boxing, there aren’t those kinds of opportunities for women.

You have two or three of us that are getting paid good money, and then the rest of them are kind of just like opponents, and they don’t really have a large following and a big backing,” Shields said. “In MMA, in the PFL, you create your own destiny, and that’s what I want to do. I created my own destiny in boxing an as far as in becoming a two-time Olympic champ, starting from the Junior Olympics to the real Olympics, world championships and now being a professional world champion. I just wanna test myself really.

Given Shield’s high-profile signature to PFL, fans and pundits immediately questioned the possibility of a matchup of Olympic standouts; Shields and the above-mentioned, Harrison, who has established an eye-catching 7-0 professional mixed martial arts record since her move to the sport back in the summer of 2018

With plans to ultimately stand opposite her friend and fellow Olympic two-time gold medal victor, Shields detailed how she had actually contacted Harrison after penning her deal with the PFL and plans to bring her to the forefront of her thought process before the culmination of next year. 

Just me being who I am, of course, I want to fight the best,” Shields said. “Right now, she’s (Kayla Harrison) the best. She’s the winner of the PFL league. She won the million dollars, and I was able to watch all of her fights leading up to that not because I was getting ready to come to the PFL, but because I’m a fan of hers and we’re actually friends. We’ve been at both Olympics together. We know each other.

I actually texted her this morning, so of course that’s who I’m looking at down the line, but then again like I said, the PFL — you create your own destiny,” Shields said. “Anything can happen on any given night so we can be in a tournament in 2022 or 2023 and be fighting, and she loses. It’s like anything can happen, so I’m just gonna take it one fight at a time. I’m not initially thinking of Kayla Harrison right off the bat, but she will be in my thoughts towards the end of 2021.” (H/T MMA Junkie)

Claressa Shields Reportedly Signs With PFL

After defeating all before her in the boxing ring, it’s been reported Claressa Shields is to compete in MMA. The news was announced by Mike Bohn and John Morgan of MMAJunkie, who wrote that they were informed by two people with ‘ knowledge of the situation.’ The article went on to state that Shields has […]

After defeating all before her in the boxing ring, it’s been reported Claressa Shields is to compete in MMA.

The news was announced by Mike Bohn and John Morgan of MMAJunkie, who wrote that they were informed by two people with ‘ knowledge of the situation.’

The article went on to state that Shields has signed a contract with PFL to compete in stand-alone bouts. This would allow her to continue her boxing career as well as build her MMA resume. The article’s sources were anonymous as the PFL has not made any official statement about Shields joining the company.

MMAJunkie are not the only combat sports site reporting the news. The Athletics’s Mike Coppinger tweeted out that Shields will make her MMA debut on April 23.

The 25-year-old has been vocal about wanting to face the UFC’s Amanda Nunes, both in the ring and the Octagon, though Nunes has never appeared particularly receptive to the idea.

Shields’ record stands at 10-0, 2KO as a professional boxer and she is currently the undisputed women’s middleweight champion. If the PFL has signed the Flint native, then expect the promotion to get a lot more publicity in 2021. Shields has become one of the faces of women’s boxing, and there is bound to be huge curiosity as to how she would fare in MMA.

What do you make of this news?

Boxing Gold Medalist Claressa Shields Signs With PFL

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields is officially making the move to MMA. According to an MMA Junkie report, Claressa Shields has signed with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) and will compete in the lightweight division. Shields has c…

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields is officially making the move to MMA. According to an MMA Junkie report, Claressa Shields has signed with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) and will compete in the lightweight division. Shields has conquered the sport of boxing and will now look to do the same in MMA. After beginning […]

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Michael Bisping Wants To See Amanda Nunes vs. Claressa Shields

Count Michael Bisping as a fan of having a crossover fight between UFC “champ-champ” Amanda Nunes and WBC and WBO women’s light middleweight champion Claressa Shields. Talks of a fantasy matchup between Nunes and Shields have been thr…

Count Michael Bisping as a fan of having a crossover fight between UFC “champ-champ” Amanda Nunes and WBC and WBO women’s light middleweight champion Claressa Shields. Talks of a fantasy matchup between Nunes and Shields have been thrown out to the wild for over a year. It all began when Shields sparred with Cris Cyborg […]

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Claressa Shields Reveals What Spurred Interest In Amanda Nunes Fight

In case you thought she wasn’t serious, unified women’s boxing middleweight champion Claressa Shields will begin her mixed martial arts (MMA) training this year. Talk has ramped up of the boxer facing two-weight UFC champion Amanda Nunes in potential crossover fights in boxing and MMA. For now, though, it looks like MMA is the plan. […]

The post Claressa Shields Reveals What Spurred Interest In Amanda Nunes Fight appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

In case you thought she wasn’t serious, unified women’s boxing middleweight champion Claressa Shields will begin her mixed martial arts (MMA) training this year.

Talk has ramped up of the boxer facing two-weight UFC champion Amanda Nunes in potential crossover fights in boxing and MMA. For now, though, it looks like MMA is the plan.

But how did the whole idea even pop up in the first place? For Shields, it was when the combat sports world started labelling Nunes as having the best hands in any sport:

“I remember when Amanda Nunes knocked out Cris Cyborg and, I don’t know who said it, but they said, ‘Amanda Nunes has the best hands that we’ve seen in any sport, boxing or MMA,’ and I was like, ‘No! We are not going to do that. We are not going to say that Amanda Nunes has better hands than me,’” Shields told BJ Penn. “I’m a two-time Olympic gold medalist in boxing. I just wasn’t going to settle for that.

“That’s why I wanted to have a fight with her in boxing because when she beats girls in the UFC, the majority [of her wins] are with her hands. She knocked out Cris Cyborg with one punch. For me, I want to get in there and fight her because of that.”

Nunes doesn’t seem too interested in a boxing fight though. That is why Shields is making a compromise and venturing into the world of MMA.

Although she will be at a disadvantage, she feels she is young enough to get to grips with the many martial arts she has no experience with:

“MMA contains boxing, boxing doesn’t contain MMA,” Shields added. “That’s why I thought the fight would be more fair with boxing. I can understand her feeling like she’s coming in at a disadvantage in boxing, so that’s why I said I would gladly learn some jiu-jitsu and some wrestling, and I already know how to box.

“So I would get in the cage and do it on that side just to make it fair because Mayweather beat up McGregor in boxing, but who knows how Mayweather would do in the cage against McGregor? I feel like I’m young enough to take the time to learn these things and actually get in there and win. I don’t go into nothing like, ‘hopefully I win’, I’m going in there looking for 100-percent win factor.”

Shields expects to make her MMA debut by the end of 2020.

What do you make of Shields and her venturing into the MMA world?

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