There will come a time when Claressa Shields will find a way to accomplish even more in the ring.
For now, she is ready to take her talents to the cage.
The two-time Olympic Gold medalist and three-division champion as a pro is officially set to make her mixed martial arts (MMA) debut. Shields will do so under the Professional Fighters League (PFL) banner, with her first fight to come June 10th and Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City.
“MMA Debut is set,” Shields (11-0, 2 KOs in boxing) announced on her verified social media account. “I’ve fought for the legacy in boxing long enough! I’m ready to make some real money while I go for more legacy.
“Boxing holla at me when the money is right.”
The official fight date was first revealed on ABC’s Good Morning America (GMA), which featured a profile on Shields on Tuesday.
“There’s not a boxer—male or female—who have accomplished what I have accomplished,” Shields told ABC’s Michael Strahan, the Hall of Fame former defensive end and current GMA anchor who is also a lifelong boxing fan. “It’s astonishing, and there are a lot more changes that need to be done.”
Shields first made the decision to become a two-sport athlete at a time when the sports world was shut down last spring due to the coronavirus pandemic. The 26-year-old Flint native was coming off of a 10-round win over Ivana Habazin last January—claiming two junior middleweight belts in becoming a three-division champ faster than any other boxer in history—but spent the rest of 2020 on the sidelines, waiting for a fight date that would never materialize.
“Going through the pandemic was a depressing time for me,” admitted Shields. “I wasn’t In the ring. I gained a whole bunch of weight. I’ve accomplished everything in boxing. In my mind, I was like ‘it’s time to try MMA.’
Shields has since become undisputed champion at junior middleweight following a 10-round shutout of Marie-Eve Dicaire this past March in her Flint hometown. The bout headlined an all-female Pay-Per-View, a choice made by Shields in lieu of securing a fight date on any major platform. By that point, the decision was made to venture into MMA, having announced that she signed with PFL earlier this year.
By no means is Shields done with boxing. The only fighter in history to claim undisputed championship status in two weight divisions during the four-belt era still has plans to return to the ring when the time is right.
Right now, the time has come to spread her wings and attempt to conquer another sport.
“Be who you want to be,” Shields insisted when asked by Strahan of any advice she has to young women around the world. “Sometimes, they put us in a box and say, “this is what a woman is.” Skinny, petite, you know… straight hair. They put you in this box and it’s so shallow.
“I think people are so used to women being told what to do and not doing what they want to do, that it makes them uncomfortable and feel intimidated. That’s my advice—do you, boo!”
Re: Claressa Shields To Make PFL Debut June 10 In Atlantic City
Posted: 14 Apr 2021, 09:58
by margaret thatcher
and most importantly, do it for unc! sucker punch them bastards
Re: Claressa Shields To Make PFL Debut June 10 In Atlantic City
Shields begins MMA journey against jiu-jitsu specialist Elkin – PFL 2021 season premieres on Friday, April 23 in primetime on ESPN 2, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+
NEW YORK (April 14, 2021) – The Professional Fighters League (PFL), the fastest growing and most innovative sports league, today announced the world’s best female boxer and two-time Olympic gold medalist, Claressa Shields, will make her PFL MMA debut against Brittney Elkin on June 10. The match will be aired live and in primetime on ESPN 2 and ESPN 3 (Spanish) in the U.S. and on leading broadcast and streaming outlets in more than 160 countries worldwide.
The 26-year-old has been training with some of the sport’s biggest stars ahead of her debut in Atlantic City. Since announcing her decision to join PFL last December, Shields has been prepping at Jackson Wink MMA Academy in Albuquerque, New Mexico alongside former world champions Jon Jones and Holly Holm. The three-division boxing champion is set to enter the 2022 PFL season.
“I am very excited to cement my legacy as the Greatest Woman of All Time,” said Shields. “I cannot wait to step into the PFL cage for the first time on June 10 and show the world that I never back down from a challenge. I have shown I am the best boxer in the world and eventually I intend to do the same thing as a mixed martial artist.”
Elkin has a career record of 3-6-0 and the brown belt jiu-jitsu athlete has experience competing across Bellator, Sparta Combat League and Fight 2 Win. Her first and only matchup with the PFL came in June 2018 when she battled future PFL champion Kayla Harrison, losing via submission in Round 1.
“I’m very grateful to be back in the PFL and to have this opportunity to square off with Claressa Shields,” Elkin said. “I know she is a great boxer but this is MMA and I plan to show everyone that I am a well-rounded fighter who can compete wherever the fight takes me.”
“We’re thrilled to announce the highly anticipated PFL debut of the world’s consensus top female pound-for-pound boxer, Claressa Shields,” said PFL President of Fighter Operations, Ray Sefo. “We’ve seen the videos of her training inside the cage and can’t wait to see the showdown between her and Brittney Elkin on June 10.”
The rest of the June 10 card will be announced in the coming weeks.
Professional Fighters League has quickly established itself as the No. 2 MMA company in the world. The league has experienced tremendous YoY growth across digital channels – 68% follower increase on Instagram, 30% total audience growth across digital and a 200% social engagement spike.
With the addition of world-class talent – from elite fighters to established business executives – and partnering with industry-leading brands such as Anheuser-Busch InBev, GEICO, CarParts.com and Socios, the PFL continues to accelerate its global expansion. Sports fans across more than 160 countries around world will be able to tune in to the league’s highly anticipated return on April 23 in
Re: Claressa Shields vs. Brittney Elkin | MMA - June 10, 2021
Posted: 16 Apr 2021, 13:57
by Perseus
Sooooo.......
How many ppvs did superstar Claressa sell in her last fight??
Re: Claressa Shields vs. Brittney Elkin | MMA - June 10, 2021
How many ppvs did superstar Claressa sell in her last fight??
I did hear some rumours..
10k
Re: Claressa Shields vs. Brittney Elkin | MMA - June 10, 2021
Posted: 20 May 2021, 12:39
by Ruthless-RKO
ESPN Press Release
Four-part, all-access series follows two-time gold medalist as she moves to Professional Fighters League – First episode premiering Thursday, June 3 – Shields to make MMA debut at PFL 4, Thursday, June 10, live on ESPN+ and ESPN2
Claressa Shields, a new four-part, all-access series, premiering exclusively on ESPN+ in June, will give fans a behind-the-scenes look at Shields’ quest to become the greatest two-sport athlete of all time, simultaneously maintaining her dominance in boxing while making her debut in mixed martial arts. A two-time boxing Olympic Gold Medalist and the first professional boxer – male or female – to win undisputed world titles in two separate weight divisions in the four-belt era, Shields has now set her sights on an MMA championship as part of her ambitious goal to be recognized as the undisputed, greatest woman in combat sports.
From Shields’ humble beginnings as a young girl who discovered boxing in a tough Flint, Michigan neighborhood, to winning Olympic Gold in London and Rio, to establishing herself as the No. 1 pound-for-pound female boxing champion, Claressa Shields tells her unique and inspiring story as she continues to rise.
The first episode of the series, premiering Thursday, June 3, captures Shields as she prepares to make her MMA debut with the Professional Fighters League in a lightweight bout versus Brittney Elkin at PFL 4 on Thursday, June 10, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. PFL 4 will be live on ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET and on ESPN2 at 10 p.m. ET.
Since announcing her decision to pursue an MMA title, Shields has been training at the famed Jackson Wink MMA Academy, where former UFC champions Holly Holm and Jon Jones (the UFC’s No. 1 ranked pound-for-pound fighter) train with Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn.
“Claressa has accomplished so much as an athlete already and her life story is both authentic and compelling,” said Brian Lockhart, senior vice president, original content and ESPN Films. “We know she’s just getting started, and this new series is a chance for all of us to join Claressa on her journey and to see up close what drives the ambition of a world champion who is reaching for all-time greatness.”
Re: Claressa Shields vs. Brittney Elkin | MMA - June 10, 2021
Posted: 23 May 2021, 07:46
by Perseus
I predict the audience numbers for this show will "exceed all expectations" yet never be revealed.
Re: Claressa Shields vs. Brittney Elkin | MMA - June 10, 2021
Posted: 02 Jun 2021, 09:34
by Bard of Boxrec
Lol
I wonder what sort of boxing payday Shields deems ‘right’. Didn’t she make 300k a fight or something ? Seems pretty amazing for someone with so little audience , taking such small risks in relation to her abilities
Re: Claressa Shields vs. Brittney Elkin | MMA - June 10, 2021
Posted: 04 Jun 2021, 06:12
by Ruthless-RKO
Re: Claressa Shields vs. Brittney Elkin | MMA - June 10, 2021
A relentless work effort and desire to perfect her craft has allowed Claressa Shields to achieve as much as she has in the boxing world.
That same mindset has been applied to her mixed martial arts debut, and she can’t understand why anyone would assume she would approach it any other way.
“Any boxer that wants to come to MMA and don’t train in any other arts, those boxers are always going to lose,” Shields noted during a recent Zoom media conference call to discuss her upcoming MMA bout with Brittney Elkin. “Happily, I’m not like that. I’ve been at Jackson Wink (MMA Academy) for the past seven months. I had great sparring, I’ve done some jiu-jitsu, some wrestling.
“I’ve been doing all of the arts and mix them together to be the best fighter that I can be. That’s what we will do on Thursday. We have a game plan and I’m going to follow that game plan.”
Shields (11-0, 2 KOs in boxing) will take to the cage for the first time, as she faces Colorado’s Elkin on a Professional Fighters League (PFL) show this Thursday on ESPN2 from Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City. The venture is a brief departure from her boxing career, where she has won championships in three weight divisions following a stellar amateur career that saw the Flint, Michigan native become the first-ever American boxer to capture back-to-back Olympic Gold medals.
The decision was a long time coming for Shields, further amplified by a 2020 campaign limited to just one fight—a 10-round shutout of Ivana Habazin last January to become a three-division champion after just 10 pro bouts. Shields has since added a 10-round win over previously unbeaten Marie-Eve Dicaire to become undisputed champion at junior middleweight atop an independent Pay-Per-View event this past March in her Flint hometown.
The show was staged while Shield was also cross training at Jackson Wink MMA Academy in Albuquerque, working with two-sport champion Holly Holm among others at the world class training facility. From there came the opportunity to participate in PFL, as she faces Elkin (3-6 in MMA, 0-1 in PFL) in a non-tournament affair.
“It’s not about training long but training correctly,” notes Shields, who still has designs to return to boxing as long as she is granted fair treatment. “Jackson Wink was the perfect place to help me train correctly. Holly Holm was able to help me. She made the transition to MMA from boxing. I felt like she would be able to help me with my transition.”
Albuquerque’s Holm is the only fighter in history to claim championships in boxing and in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and referred to by Shields as “the cheat code” to guide her own transition from the ring to the cage. Holm remains active in UFC, with her MMA career only enduring slight overlap with the end of her boxing career after having walked away from the sport for good in 2013. Her respective title reigns between the two sports are more than seven years apart.
Shields—who still serves as the lineal junior middleweight and middleweight champion in boxing—aims to become the first ever to simultaneously claim championship status in boxing and MMA. It first begins with getting past Elkin, a 34-year-old semi-retired fighter who holds a brown belt in jiu-jitsu.
“I don’t have any nerves because nerves don’t help you in a fight. I’m prepared for this,” insists Shields. “Now, if I had this fight four or five months ago, I would’ve been like ‘Oh my God!’ because I hadn’t really submerged myself in it yet. Now that I’ve been doing it for seven months,
“I’ve had so much training and so much time to learn and understand what I’m doing. I’m completely comfortable going into Thursday night. Instead of having nerves, I’m actually excited about Thursday night.”
Re: Claressa Shields vs. Brittney Elkin | MMA - June 10, 2021
Posted: 10 Jun 2021, 08:07
by Ruthless-RKO
Date: Thursday, June 10, 2021 Start Time: 10pm ET (Main) | 7pm ET (Prelims) Location: Ocean Casino Resort - Atlantic City, NJ Streaming: ESPN+ | TV: ESPN2 (Main Card)
The card will also feature Clay Collard, the MMA veteran who became a boxing folk hero in 2020, as he faces Joilton Lutterbach in what will serve as the co-feature.
