Tag: PFL News

Dana White Hopes Claressa Shields Knocks Out Jake Paul

Unsurprisingly, Dana White has a ton of respect for Claressa Shields and none for Jake Paul.

While Shields is currently competing for the PFL and not the UFC, White still has a tremendous amount of respect for her. In fact, after her first ever pro…

Dana White Claressa Shields

Unsurprisingly, Dana White has a ton of respect for Claressa Shields and none for Jake Paul.

While Shields is currently competing for the PFL and not the UFC, White still has a tremendous amount of respect for her. In fact, after her first ever pro defeat, dropping a split decision to Abigail Montes, he was still incredibly supportive of the pro boxing champion.

Speaking in a recent interview with MMA Fighting, White had immensely high praise for Shields, simply to cross over from boxing to MMA. Then for her to lose but have one judge thinking she won the fight, he says that is worthy of respect too.

“Nothing but respect for Claressa Shields. To be looked at as the best female boxer, and to come over here and start training and start to do this, not easy and nothing but respect for her. She lost a split decision… which is even more impressive that in her second fight she loses a split decision, which means one of the judges thought she won the fight. So nothing but respect for her, and she should just keep plugging along, keep training, and keep doing what she’s doing, and she’s a very talented, gifted athlete. Crazy that anybody’s saying anything to her,” White said.

Dana White took it a bit further when he heard that Jake Paul was one of the crazy people who was criticizing Claressa Shields. The two had been going back and forth for a while, but the UFC bossman thought it was crazy that someone with Paul’s resume would diss someone like Shields, saying that he hopes she knocked the YouTuber turned boxer out.

“(Jake Paul) better be careful. She might knock him out. She might knock him out actually, he better be careful… So Jake Paul calls Claressa Shields a loser? Claressa Shields is nothing but a winner who actually fought real people, in her own weight class, in her own age, in her own sport, and then goes over to MMA and tries to win a world title. That’s not a loser, that’s a winner. When are you going to start fighting somebody your own fucking age, your own weight, that actually fights in your own fucking sport that you’re claiming you’re in? Shut the fuck up, you goofball. For you to call Claressa Shields a loser is fucking unbelievable… I hope he runs into her somewhere and she knocks him the fuck out.”

With the amount of praise that Dana White has for Claressa Shields, it does make one wonder if he will ever try to sign her to fight in the UFC. At least that way, she does not have to worry about fighting on the undercard of a Jake Paul fight.

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Nate Diaz Praises ‘Real Fighter’ Claressa Shields After PFL Defeat

Claressa Shields may have lost her fight with Abigail Montes, but she did not lose any respect from Nate Diaz. Diaz has always had some respect for Shields, especially during her recent move to MMA. In fact, prior to her MMA debut, a fight that she would end up winning in a come from behind […]

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Claressa Shields may have lost her fight with Abigail Montes, but she did not lose any respect from Nate Diaz.

Diaz has always had some respect for Shields, especially during her recent move to MMA. In fact, prior to her MMA debut, a fight that she would end up winning in a come from behind victory over Brittney Elkin in June, he watched a ton of the boxing world champion’s fights to get familiar with her style and support her heading into the contest.

In fact, even after Shields suffered defeat in her sophomore outing, getting controlled on the ground en route to a split decision loss to Montes, the younger Diaz brother has nothing but respect for her. Following this loss in the 2021 PFL Championships, he posted to his Twitter, praising Shields for being what he determines is a real fighter.

“Big shoutout to @Claressashields real fight real fighter much more props deserved ??” Diaz wrote.

This is a big compliment to Claressa Shields from someone like Nate Diaz, who does not throw around compliments very often. To put it in perspective, the last major time that he called someone a real fighter was when he was working to secure a BMF title fight with Jorge Masvidal, getting an entire belt crafted for the fight, which was then awarded by none other than Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

It is fair to say that Shields is a divisive figure in the world of combat sports, with her brash and confident attitude, as well as her short temper on social media, being a point of contention among fans. That being said, she also has a ton of fans, and if Nate Diaz is a supporter of you, that says something about the type of person and fighter that you really are.

Continue Reading Nate Diaz Praises ‘Real Fighter’ Claressa Shields After PFL Defeat at MMA News.

Claressa Shields Counterpunches Jake Paul After First-Loss Trolling

Claressa Shields has responded to Jake Paul’s recent criticism following her first career MMA loss on Wednesday at the PFL Championship. Since Jake Paul has taken over the boxing world, he has come up during some of Shields’ interviews. Shields said that she would never fight on a Jake Paul undercard and also said she […]

Continue Reading Claressa Shields Counterpunches Jake Paul After First-Loss Trolling at MMA News.

Claressa Shields has responded to Jake Paul’s recent criticism following her first career MMA loss on Wednesday at the PFL Championship.

Since Jake Paul has taken over the boxing world, he has come up during some of Shields’ interviews. Shields said that she would never fight on a Jake Paul undercard and also said she would KO Paul. So after her loss, it was no surprise to see the YouTuber blast her.

“The truth hurts but it’s necessary,” Paul wrote on Twitter. “Clarissa Shields is a loser. In MMA, and even more so with her prima donna attitude. The fake always get exposed. Losses come when anger and hate take over. Just ask Rousey and McGregor. She spent more time berating Jake Paul than learning Jiu Jitsu. She’s never been a big draw and unfortunately for her she never will be. Amanda Serrano (the GWOAT) though, has 30 KOs in 42 fights. 2-0 in MMA, both wins by submission. Congrats Abigail Montes on the win.”

Claresssa Shields, Jake Paul
Claressa Shields

Now, after the loss, Claressa Shields took to her Twitter to fire back at Jake Paul. She has also since made her Twitter account private as well.

“This is funny. You come running when I lose a split decision in a while new world mma but never even once said “congrats on all you’ve done and aspire to do.” 2 things that remain Jake, I still fight better than you & you won’t accomplish 10% of what I have in boxing or life,” Shields wrote on social media. “Unlike Jake I fought a real mma fighter, he has yet to face a real boxer in boxing but Showtime will still back him though #Amerika.”

It isn’t much of a surprise to see Shields blast Paul as she has been vocal about her not liking him and what he is doing to boxing.

“I loss a split decision, I didn’t get my ass whooped  I also improved. All I’m going to do is go back to the drawing board and keep learning. No one said this journey was going To be easy. MMA is new to me, I’m fighting on a world stage after only 9 months of training. #blessed”

“The difference in last night was I’ve never had to fight or even train in a cage so damn slippery. It’s all learning & just different from boxing. I did a lot of things right last night. I just loss a split decision.”

Claressa Shields also said she will resume her undefeated boxing career in December and that she will return to MMA next year “on a different level.”

What do you make of Claressa Shields’ response to Jake Paul?

Continue Reading Claressa Shields Counterpunches Jake Paul After First-Loss Trolling at MMA News.

Jake Paul Takes Great Pleasure In Claressa Shield’s First Career Loss

Jake Paul had himself a grand ol’ time watching Claressa Shields lose in her second professional MMA bout. Recently, Claressa Shields has had a mouthful to say about polarizing figure Jake Paul. The two central claims made by the Olympian were 1) She could easily defeat Paul in a boxing match, even with one hand; […]

Continue Reading Jake Paul Takes Great Pleasure In Claressa Shield’s First Career Loss at MMA News.

Jake Paul had himself a grand ol’ time watching Claressa Shields lose in her second professional MMA bout.

Recently, Claressa Shields has had a mouthful to say about polarizing figure Jake Paul. The two central claims made by the Olympian were 1) She could easily defeat Paul in a boxing match, even with one hand; and 2) It is an insult to even suggest she would fight on a Jake Paul undercard.

Now usually, Jake Paul is quick with the reply and doesn’t seem to discriminate much on who he responds to. In the case of Claressa Shields, however, he remained mostly if not completely silent in light of Shields’ hot comments. In hindsight, the professional troll may have just been biding his time for the right moment to respond. If so, minutes after Shields’s first MMA loss suited this preference just right.

“I love karma @Claressashields, Congrats Abigail Montes! Someone get her a Twitter!” Paul posted with the following, more elaborate message attached:

“The truth hurts but it’s necessary,” wrote Paul. “Clarissa Shields is a loser. In MMA, and even more so with her prima donna attitude. The fake always get exposed. Losses come when anger and hate take over. Just ask Rousey and McGregor. She spent more time berating Jake Paul than learning Jiu Jitsu. She’s never been a big draw and unfortunately for her she never will be. Amanda Serrano (the GWOAT) though, has 30 KOs in 42 fights. 2-0 in MMA, both wins by submission. Congrats Abigail Montes on the win.”

As Paul’s celebration alludes to, Shields’s loss came at the hands of Abigail Montes, who outgrappled the Olympic boxer to a split-decision victory the YouTuber believes was the work of karma.

Though Paul classifies Shields’ comments as “berating,” Shields maintained that she did not mean any disrespect to Paul with her comments. On the contrary, she says she was simply providing a blunt, straightforward response to the thought of fighting on his undercard given her credentials.

Now that the two are officially on bad terms, perhaps Shields will fall back on her other claim and opt to fight on a Jake Paul card after all, not on the undercard, but rather opposite her newfound nemesis to shut him up while proving herself right.

You don’t…you don’t think we’re actually seeing the groundwork laid out for a possible Jake Paul vs. Claressa Shields fight…do you?

Continue Reading Jake Paul Takes Great Pleasure In Claressa Shield’s First Career Loss at MMA News.

Claressa Shields On First Loss: “She Went For The Goddamn Takedown”

Claressa Shields is walking away from her first blow of defeat with a lot to think about. It was less than one full year ago that Claressa Shields made the decision to begin an MMA career and sign with PFL. Roughly seven months after making this life-changing decision, she found herself in the Decagon against […]

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Claressa Shields is walking away from her first blow of defeat with a lot to think about.

It was less than one full year ago that Claressa Shields made the decision to begin an MMA career and sign with PFL. Roughly seven months after making this life-changing decision, she found herself in the Decagon against a much more experienced adversary in seven-year pro Brittney Elkin. Elkin gave Shields all she could handle in the Olympian’s highly hyped debut, but the never-quit attitude of the Flint, Michigan native was on display in her come-from-behind victory last June.

There was no fairytale ending this time, as Shields dropped a split decision to Abigail Montes yesterday at the 2021 PFL World Championship. Though Shields is encouraged by some of the things she did well in her second pro fight, she can’t help but eke out some residual frustration that her opponent opted to go for the dadgum takedown.

“I did better in there. I did pretty good on the cage,” Shields told ESPN immediately following her loss. “It was always the ground stuff. Gotta get better at defending the takedown and stuff. The game plan was to just do better than my last fight. Of course to win [also], but do better.

Abigail Montes serves Claressa Shields her first MMA loss at PFL Championships (Video)
Abigail Montes unleashes full-mounted ground-and-pound on Claressa Shields At The 2021 PFL World Championship

“It continues to show us what we need to work on, and I worked damn hard in camp. I knew I would look better. It was the last round that did it for me. She went for the goddamn takedown, and I didn’t respond quick enough.”

As you might have guessed, Shields is already well aware of what is priority #1 when she returns to the Jackson Wink MMA gym in the near future. And in case you were wondering, no, she has no plans of quitting MMA.

“Continue more ground game, continue more training; getting better,” Shields said. “I’ve got two more years left, so it’s not over.”

Do you think Claressa Shields has what takes to rebound from her first MMA loss?

Continue Reading Claressa Shields On First Loss: “She Went For The Goddamn Takedown” at MMA News.

2021 PFL World Championship Results, Sights, & Sounds

The 2001 PFL World Championship just wrapped up, and we’ve got you covered with all the results, sights, and sounds! There were six world title fights in tonight’s 2021 PFL season finale and thus six $1 million winners. In the main event, Kayla Harrison put her undefeated record on the line against Taylor Guardado. And […]

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The 2001 PFL World Championship just wrapped up, and we’ve got you covered with all the results, sights, and sounds!

There were six world title fights in tonight’s 2021 PFL season finale and thus six $1 million winners. In the main event, Kayla Harrison put her undefeated record on the line against Taylor Guardado. And in the only non-title fight on the main card, Olympic boxing champion Claressa Shields made her sophomore MMA appearance against the 2-0 Abigail Montes.

So which six talented fighters took home the cash? And how did the PFL’s resident Olympians Kayla Harrison and Claressa Shields fare? You can catch the main card highlights below followed by the quick results.

Main Card Kick-Off

Before we get to the action, here are a few sounds from multi-platinum recording artists and part-owner of the PFL, Wiz Khalifa, who literally setting the tone for the night!

Movlid Khaybulaev vs. Chris Wade 

First up on the main card was Movlid Khaybulaev taking on Chris Wade. Both men came into this fight with a 3-0 season record. That would inevitably change, of course, with one of the two taking home $1 million for his efforts. Would Khaybulaev show why he was the favorite? Or would former UFC vet Chris Wade show that life outside of the UFC is worth a million bucks? Check out the highlights below!

Bruno Cappelozza vs. Ante Delija

Next up we’ve got the heavyweights, Bruno Cappelozza taking on Ante Delija in a rematch of a fight that took place earlier this year. Cappelozza got the victory the first time in their May encounter. Would history repeat itself here with $1 million at risk? The frenetic highlights below reveal the answer to that question.

Claressa Shields vs. Abigail Montes

Up next, we have the highly anticipated return of Claressa Shields as she takes on 2-0 Abigail Montes. Shields had to overcome her share of adversity in her MMA debut against Brittney Elkin in June. Would she again need to dig deep, or would she have a much smoother outing this go-round? Find out which of these MMA newcomers’ 0 had to go in the highlights below.

Ray Cooper III vs. Magomed Magomedkerimov

In the co-main event, the last two winners of the welterweight PFL seasons went at it in the rematch. The first time, Magomedkerimov defeated Cooper via guillotine choke in 2018. This time, there was once again a finish. Find out who earned it and how in the memorable outcome below.

Kayla Harrison vs. Taylor Guardado

There was no other way to close out the 2021 PFL season than with the undefeated Olympian Kayla Harrison looking to repeat as the women’s lightweight champion. Entering the fight as a -4000 favorite, this main event was viewed more as a coronation than an actual final. Would Taylor Guardado shock the world and give PFL the historic landmark of the greatest upset in MMA championship history? Buckle up and find out below.

2021 PFL World Championship Quick Results

MAIN CARD

  • Women’s Lightweight Championship: Kayla Harrison def. Taylor Guardado via submission (armbar): R2, 4:00
  • Welterweight Championship: Ray Cooper III def. Magomed Magomedkerimov via knockout (punches): R3, 3:02
  • Abigail Montes def. Claressa Shields via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
  • Heavyweight Championship: Bruno Cappelozza def. Ante Delija via unanimous decision (49-45×2, 48-46) 
  • Featherweight Championship: Movlid Khaybulaev def. Chris Wade via unanimous decision (50-45×3)

PRELIMINARY CARD

  • Light Heavyweight Championship: Antonio Carlos Junior def. Marthin Hamlet via submission (rear-naked choke): R1, 3:49
  • Lightweight Championship: Raush Manfio def. Loik Radzhabov via unanimous decision (48-46×2, 49-46)
  • Jordan Young def. Omari Akhmedov via TKO (punches): R3, 1:32
  • Julia Budd def. Kaitlin Young via unanimous decision (30-27×3)
  • Don Madge def. Nathan Williams via submission (rear-naked choke): R2, 2:15

Want to relive all the action from tonight’s card in its entirety? You can catch the full replay of both the preliminary and main cards by subscribing to ESPN+!

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