Claressa Shields showed the world she is serious about her MMA career, earning a late TKO in her debut. Elkins was faithful to her word and focused on takedowns and controlling Shields on the ground through most of the fight. Shields, however, showed composure and never panicked when she found herself in compromising positions. Elkin […]
Claressa Shields showed the world she is serious about her MMA career, earning a late TKO in her debut.
Elkins was faithful to her word and focused on takedowns and controlling Shields on the ground through most of the fight. Shields, however, showed composure and never panicked when she found herself in compromising positions.
Elkin attempted to utilize her jiu-jitsu skills early to try and finish the fight but was unsuccessful. She attempted armbars in both the first and second rounds, but Shields was able to escape and even achieved the top position for brief moments.
Elkins also attempted to dish out some ground and pound, but Shields was unfazed and never seemed in danger from the strikes. Shields also mounted offense from the bottom, causing Elkin to remain close to her in an attempt to close distance and avoid Shields’s strikes. Still, the boxing GWOAT was down two rounds by our card going into the third.
In the third, it appeared that it would be more of the same when Elkin attempted a single leg early in the round. Shields sprawled and avoided the takedown, punching Elkin on the way up and causing the veteran to stumble. It was the beginning of the end as Shields swarmed Elkin and secured the stoppage with a barrage of unanswered strikes to Elkin’s head. Check out the highlights below.
How do you think Claressa Shields looked in her PFL debut?
Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis will not be fighting at PFL 4 on Thursday night, after he reportedly was pulled off the card due to an undisclosed illness. Pettis was originally scheduled to fight Alexander Martinez before the move was made. Martinez will now face Natan Schulte as a last-second replacement and Pettis will […]
Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis will not be fighting at PFL 4 on Thursday night, after he reportedly was pulled off the card due to an undisclosed illness.
Pettis was originally scheduled to fight Alexander Martinez before the move was made. Martinez will now face Natan Schulte as a last-second replacement and Pettis will fight on June 25th against Raush Manfio in his final chance to make the PFL playoffs this season.
In his first fight, Pettis lost to Clay Collard by unanimous decision at PFL 1 just two months ago. Collard is also on the PFL 4 card and will face Joilton Lutterbach on the prelims.
Pettis signed with PFL earlier this year following a long-tenured career with the UFC, that included highlight knockout finishes and a two-fight reign as the promotion’s lightweight champion. Pettis had his ups and downs after losing the belt to Rafael Dos Anjos which included moves to featherweight and welterweight.
Even at 37 years old, Pettis showed that he’s still a capable competitor in MMA during his war with Collard earlier this year. His brother, Sergio also earned the Bellator bantamweight championship earlier this year, pulling off the upset against then-champion Juan Archuleta.
The featherweight bout between two-time PFL featherweight champion Lance Palmer and Movlid Khaybulaev has also been moved to the PFL 6 card on June 25th.
Thursday’s card will feature the highly-anticipated women’s lightweight fight between MMA rookie Claressa Shields and Brittney Elkin. Shields is making her MMA debut after a long career as one of the most accomplished boxers regardless of gender in history.
Pettis has the chance to salvage his debut season in PFL in just a few weeks, and hopefully he’ll be at 100% physically entering the fight.
Do you think Anthony Pettis will still make the PFL playoffs despite being pulled off of the PFL 4 card?
Brittney Elkins intends to make sure Claressa Shields knows she’s in an MMA fight and not a boxing match in her PFL debut. Elkin, a veteran of the sport, sat down with Low Kick MMA to discuss the match-up and women’s combat sports in general. She retired from competition after a serious injury back in […]
Brittney Elkins intends to make sure Claressa Shields knows she’s in an MMA fight and not a boxing match in her PFL debut.
Elkin, a veteran of the sport, sat down with Low Kick MMA to discuss the match-up and women’s combat sports in general. She retired from competition after a serious injury back in 2019. However, Elkin comes out of retirement to welcome Shields to mixed martial arts at PFL 4 on June 10th. Elkin explained that the match-up with Shields is exciting for her when asked about returning to the cage.
“I mean, I’m not just going to fight at your local (show), I mean, that’s sad to say, because I love a lot of local promoters. The fight would have had to appeal to me and this one did like stylistically, you know, I was like, wow. How cool to have this extreme boxer want to face the MMA cage and then how cool to be asked to be one of the opponents in the ring and just be a part of this phenomenal moment.”
“I took this fight because I was like, wow, that’s, that’s a pretty cool opportunity and I couldn’t find a reason not to take this fight. I mean, my son is 15 years old and is almost a young man. I’m completely healthy. I was in shape preparing for other things that I wanted to take on. And, yeah, it just was like, all right, let’s give this a shot. Cause it is a real neat opportunity to be in this fight.”
Though she’s excited, Elkin is facing a significant challenge in the newcomer Shields. A two-time Olympic gold medalist and the only boxer, man or woman, to hold all four major titles in two weight divisions at once, there’s no question that Shields knows how to fight. Still, Elkin believes that utilizing her whole arsenal of MMA skills will make a difference in the fight.
“It’s a distance game here. I don’t want to be in her distance and I want to keep her inside (mine). I want to be inside or outside of it. A lot of the focus of this camp is getting to what Brittany does best and how do we get there safely? How do we get there the most safe? You know, and we set up the camp that way.”
“I obviously would love to get her on the ground. I think once I get ahold of her, I think she’s going to have a real hard time getting away. So, those are the things I’m kind of going into aware that these are truths. These are truths, you know. I’ve tested these truths on different things and I believe in them.”
“So, yeah, I want to grab ahold of her. I mean, I want to get my hands on her. I’m not going to stay on and try to be an Olympic boxer today.”
“But I do feel very confident in my, in the striking that I have. It’s not Claressa striking. It’s not, you know, like the exact same. I’m going to use those things that I’ve, I’ve skillfully developed over a long time and tried to just be really in the moment, in the game of seconds and inches.”
Giving Shields looks that she may not have been able to experience in her training is a significant component of Elkin’s path to victory.
“I hope that I can bring her into the deep, scary forest where she’s never seen. There’s no map there for her. You know, I think that everybody has a map of like, where these moves go to and I want to take her somewhere she’s never been. I think it’s really hard to figure out those things in the first and second round.”
“I’ve definitely been hit before. So I’m going to try to avoid being hit, especially by power shots. Avoid being led into her game by her, her tactics.”
Do you think that Brittney Elkin will defeat Clarissa Shields in her MMA debut?
Clay Collard is not resting on his laurels after his dominating victory over Anthony Pettis in his PFL debut. Collard sat down with Low Kick MMA and talked about his PFL debut and his upcoming fight against Joilton Lutterbach at PFL 4 on June 10th. Returning to MMA after some time in the boxing world, Collard admitted that […]
Clay Collard is not resting on his laurels after his dominating victory over Anthony Pettis in his PFL debut.
Collard sat down with Low Kick MMA and talked about his PFL debut and his upcoming fight against Joilton Lutterbach at PFL 4 on June 10th. Returning to MMA after some time in the boxing world, Collard admitted that a change in his mindset was key to starting his run at the PFL lightweight championship.
“I went from kind of just not taking a serious at one point, you know, I mean, I fought so hard and so long to get to the UFC. And then when I got to the UFC, it was like, I kinda lost track a while. Why I was doing it, you know? And so, just refocusing and getting back on track and deciding that this is what I wanted to do has been everything. Now it’s, you know, I think of it as a career and not just something I’m doing. So, and that was the mindset I didn’t have when I was younger. So, I’m focused, and I’m gonna take the world by storm.”
The change in mindset was visible in his debut. He dominated Pettis through three rounds and surprised many fans and pundits alike.
“Everybody else was counting me as the underdog, but I never see myself as the underdog. So, yeah, just keep counting me out. Cause I want to keep showing up proving them wrong.”
Going into his second PFL fight, Collard is no longer the underdog. As he finalizes preparations for his fight against Lutterbach, Collard keeps quiet about the new tricks we should plan to see. However, he knows that he will need to do to stay atop the PFL lightweight standings and get one step closer to the million-dollar prize.
“Right now a finish is, is something that will solidify my spot. And I don’t have to worry about if anybody else, you know, gets a first round knockout or not.”
“So right now, right now, it’s all about the finishing. And so I will definitely be looking to stop that fight 100% from, from right out the gate. I’m trying to put him away.”
Do you think Clay Collard will still be first in the standings after PFL 4?
PFL lightweight Claressa Shields hasn’t made the walk to the octagon just yet, but she’s already feeling like a seasoned veteran ahead of her highly-anticipated debut on Thursday night at PFL 4 against Brittney Elkin. Shields and Elkin participated in a global media call to promote their showcased fight at PFL 4 and both women […]
PFL lightweight Claressa Shields hasn’t made the walk to the octagon just yet, but she’s already feeling like a seasoned veteran ahead of her highly-anticipated debut on Thursday night at PFL 4 against Brittney Elkin.
Shields and Elkin participated in a global media call to promote their showcased fight at PFL 4 and both women showed tremendous confidence ahead of their bout. Shields is an accomplished Olympic-level boxer entering her MMA debut.
When asked about what her nerves are like heading into the big moment on Thursday night, Shields dismissed the notion that she’s entering this fight with any additional pressure compared to her boxing career.
“Everything has been great, and I wouldn’t be here if I thought I was at a disadvantage to lose,” Shields said. “I don’t have any nerves because I’ve prepared to be here. If this was happening four, five months ago, it would probably be different. But I’ve submerged myself in it now and train with some of the best over at Jackson-Wink. I’m completely comfortable and looking forward to it rather than being nervous.”
While Shields isn’t feeling any extra nerves ahead of her fight against Elkin, there will most definitely be more eyes on this fight compared to her other recent boxing matches and competitions. The women’s lightweight division is definitely one of the more star-studded divisions in PFL, with defending champion Kayla Harrison, Shields, and other strong fighters such as Larissa Pacheco.
Shields has had the luxury of training with some of the best in the business down at Jackson-Wink MMA Academy in Albuquerque, NM. She has trained alongside fellow women’s MMA fighters Holly Holm and Michelle Waterson, as well as learning from former UFC light heavyweight champion and pound-for-pound best in the world Jon Jones.
Shields’ MMA debut will continue a successful year from PFL in terms of its rise in popularity around the sport. The main event will feature former UFC star Anthony Pettis against lightweight contender Alexander Martinez.
What are your expectations for the MMA debut of Claressa Shields at PFL 4?
Gabi Garcia has called out PFL star and world Judo champion Kayla Harrison, claiming that she absolutely wants to fight her. Garcia, who competes as a heavyweight, claimed in an interview with AG Fight that she does indeed want to fight Harrison, as Harrison has been speaking a lot about Garcia on the internet. Garcia […]
Gabi Garcia has called out PFL star and world Judo champion Kayla Harrison, claiming that she absolutely wants to fight her.
Garcia, who competes as a heavyweight, claimed in an interview with AG Fight that she does indeed want to fight Harrison, as Harrison has been speaking a lot about Garcia on the internet. Garcia claims she is now stepping up to the plate, but that Harrison is now attempting to avoid her instead.
“Kayla (Harrison) came on the internet to talk shit, Julia Budd (ex-Bellator champion) too. I accepted all these fights, but she (Kayla) always said that I was an easy fight. That I had no technique to fight her. But the Gabi of yesteryear is not the same as Gabi (today). Then I came to my manager and said: ‘Look, she is challenging me, I want to fight with her. What does she want to fight with me? ‘ Then it starts: ‘I fight in any category, I fight open weight’. I said: ‘No, it will arrive on time and it will not be like this’. Then: ‘No, I want a test at Gabi, I want this, I want that’. All right then! Let’s go! Do you want to test me all the time? What you want? Do you want me to hit how much weight? I talked to my doctor, (to find out) what the minimum weight I could get. Everything she was asking for. (But) in reality, she doesn’t want to fight ”,
“So, she comes to say, ‘I’m number one.’ You are the number one of the PFL, who put you in (good) fights and made an event for you, as Rizin also put up a good fight for me,” Gabi Garcia added. “Only she does not come to say that she is number one, because there is Amanda (Nunes), well, there is Cris (Cyborg). She is far from being … So if I am a very easy fight, why not fight me? Her last opponent seems to have 11 losses. I come from seven victories. So then. Kayla, I want to fight you. First time I challenge someone. She challenged me, we have been talking for two years now, and I say: ‘What do you want to be able to fight with me? Do you want the test, the (anti) doping? Do you want me to hit the weight? What you want?’. Because (just) challenging me is easy. So, that’s my goal. I want to fight with her. I don’t know when that will happen,
Ultimately though, there are a lot of issues to this fight ever even happening. The main issue is, of course, the weight disparity between Garcia and Harrison. Harrison, of course, competes in the 155lb division in the PFL, whilst, as outlined, Garcia competes in RIZIN as a heavyweight. Even a catchweight fight would most likely be either too much weight for Harrison to move up to and too much weight for Garcia to move down. Garcia naturally carries a massive frame anyway, so there is a limit to how much weight she could cut. Harrison would also lose a lot of her natural explosiveness and speed moving up too much weight either.
This does not even consider the fact that the two women compete in two different promotions. Harrison competes in the U.S. based PFL, whilst Garcia competes in Japan with RIZIN. Under normal circumstances, the logistics of this fight would have been difficult, but even more so now with COVID-19 remaining at large globally, it is extremely unlikely that this fight would happen any time soon.
Do you want to see Gabi Garcia vs. Kayla Harrison?