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RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 21: Claressa Maria Shields of the United States celebrates victory over Nouchka Fontijn of the Netherlands in the Women’s Middle (69-75kg) Final Bout on Day 16 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at Riocentro – Pavilion 6 on August 21, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
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RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 21: Claressa Maria Shields of the United States celebrates victory over Nouchka Fontijn of the Netherlands in the Women’s Middle (69-75kg) Final Bout on Day 16 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at Riocentro – Pavilion 6 on August 21, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Claressa Shields decided to switch sports and try out MMA, as she was disgruntled with the treatment she received as a female boxer. In an interview, she revealed that she thought boxing was sexist. Despite being the top pound-for-pound women’s fighter, opportunities were scarce for her.
‘T-Rex’ therefore decided to switch over to MMA and signed with the PFL. Shields will make her debut early next year and will take it one fight at a time as opposed to participating in a regular season of PFL. She aims to participate in a season in 2022 once she has a bit more experience in MMA.
Read: Claressa Shields thrilled after a BJJ session
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Claressa Shields details the positive response from the MMA community
In a recent interview, a reporter asked Claressa how the reception has been from the MMA community with regards to her move to the PFL.
Shields replied, “Yeah, I just feel like it’s just no secret. I’ve gained over 22-23,000 followers via social media and on you know just Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. Like all my numbers have went up. I think I’ve been trending on Twitter, I’ve been trending on google for the past three days.”‘T-Rex’ continued, “Just the support the MMA world has been giving me by transitioning over, there are some haters for sure. But it’s been more people giving me support…. I get the support in boxing too but the opportunities are not there”
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JacksonWink MMA Academy is one of if not the best MMA academy in the United States right now. It houses world-class champions both past and present, namely Jon Jones and Holly Holm, among others.
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MIAMI, FL – APRIL 04: WBA, WBC and IBF Middleweight World Champion Claressa Shields poses for the media before her workout at 5th Street Gym on April 4, 2019 in Miami, Florida. Shields is training to fight WBO Middleweight World Champion Christina Hammer for the undisputed middleweight world championship April 13. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
Under Mike Winkeljohn and Greg Jackson, Claressa will surely grasp the sport a lot better and in the process become a better fighter. Plus, the knowledge gained from being in the same camp as the likes of Jon Jones and Holly Holm can not be undermined.
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Are you excited to see Claressa make her MMA debut? Let us know in the comments below!
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