Olympic gold medal boxer Shields begins MMA career
NEW YORK: Claressa Shields already reigns over boxing with two Olympic gold medals and professional titles in three weight classes. Her next world to conquer is mixed martial arts (MMA).
Shields has signed with the Professional Fighters League in a quest to become the first woman to hold simultaneous titles in both MMA and boxing, she said on Monday.
She will make her debut next year, and she hopes to have two or three MMA fights along with two boxing matches during 2021 before she atempts to win the PFL title in 2022.
“I’m not trying to do this for show,” Shields told the Ap.“i’ m really taking this seriously. i’ m not thinking that just because my hands are beter than everybody else that I’ll win. I’m really going to strengthen the things that I’m weak at.”
Shields realizes she faces a steep learning curve as she prepares to fight as a 155-pound lightweight in the PFL. She is still relatively new to jiu-jitsu, wrestling and kickboxing: “I’ve never kicked anybody in my life, not even in a street fight!” she said.
But Shields is a singular athlete with a work ethic to match, and she is confident in her ability to master other forms of hand-to-hand combat with the proper training.
”I’m not going in here knowing I’m going to beat these girls just because I can outbox them,” Shields said. “I’m going to have to get away from takedowns. Take some kicks. Make some kicks. Take some knees. I have to get used to geting grabbed, because in boxing, when a girl grabs me, I dang near want to slam her.
“I really feel that me against any other woman, no mater what it is, she’s not going to be able to beat me.”
Many fighters have tried the move Shields is making in both directions. Champion boxer Holly Holm famously changed sports and knocked out Ronda Rousey to win a UFC belt, while Conor Mcgregor parlayed his UFC success into one wildly lucrative boxing match with Floyd Mayweather.
Shields’ interest in trying MMA has been rumored for years, and she also expressed interest in taking on UFC champions Amanda Nunes and Cris “Cyborg” Justino in a boxing ring. Now that the talk is real, Shields is eager to do the work necessary to make her bold dreams into reality. “I just want to be great at everything,” she said. “I hate losing. I haven’t lost a fight since I was 17 years old. I’m not here for a good time. I’m here to make my presence known to everybody I get in the cage with.”