Claressa Shields Aiming to Become the Muhammad Ali of Women’s MMA

Claressa Shields is making her transition from Boxing to MMA. The two-time Olympic gold medalist has signed a deal with PFL that will see her compete as early as April 2021. 

Shields, who had initially dismissed the idea of fighting in MMA, confessed in 2019 that she would really consider fighting in the UFC. There has been a lot of talk regarding a super fight between her and the likes of Amanda Nunes and Cris Cyborg. Now, a possible fight between the stalwarts seems closer to reality.

She is currently 10-0 as a professional boxer. However, as an amateur, her record was a mind-boggling 77-1.  It is understood that she will be taking one fight at a time under the PFL and not compete in an entire season. This means that she will continue with her boxing career and will not switch over solely to MMA. 

Her last fight was on January 10 this year, a unanimous decision win over Ivana Habazin.  She is one of only seven boxers in history to hold the WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO world championships at the same time.

Claressa Shields headed towards super fights against WMMA royalty 

Claressa’s ambition to dominate two sports at a time is a task. However, if anyone has the skillset and ability to do so, it is ‘T-Rex‘. It is rumored that she plans to defend her undisputed light middleweight title versus Marie-Eve Dicarie in January or February next year. 

One of the biggest issues facing Shields has been and lack of good quality opponents inside the ring. A switch to a different sport will definitely provide her with a set of new and exciting challenges that will be hard to overcome. 

While speaking to the press after UFC 245 on a switch to MMA she said, “I feel like I have a chance now. But once we go to the ground and stuff, I have to learn all that. I know that me being an Olympic athlete, I know that I can learn a different sport and catch on quicker than just the regular person.”

She continued, “I train with 16-ounce gloves. And I fight with 10-ounce gloves, which explains how fast my hands are. If they put me in four-ounce gloves, they will be calling me Muhammad Ali because these hands will be floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee.”

What do you make of Claressa Shields’ transition to MMA? How do you think she will fare? Let us know in the comments below.