The best female boxer in the world is set for her MMA debut in PFL. Claressa Shields (11-0 boxing) has a date for her debut in mixed martial arts. It was announced on Good Morning America that Shields will make her debut with PFL on June 10th.
At this time, the promotion hasn’t announced an opponent for the boxing superstar. At the end of November last year, PFL made waves when they announced that they had agreed to a deal with Claressa Shields.Â
Shields is ranked number one pound for pound in women’s boxing. She’s also a two-time Gold Medalist in the Olympics. Simply put, she’s the absolute best that boxing has to offer.
Shields had expressed interest in potentially crossing over to MMA over the last couple of years. She even attended UFC events, but nothing serious materialized until late in the year last year when PFL offered her a deal.
The deal allows Shields to compete in MMA under PFL as well as continue her boxing career. Shields last boxed last month. She defeated the previously unbeaten Marie Eve Dicaire by unanimous decision to win two more super welter world titles in boxing.
What to expect from Shield’s PFL debut
After it was announced that PFL had signed Shields, she revealed that she would be training under Greg Jackson. Shields is just 26 years old and has plenty of time to develop her MMA skills and she wanted to do it with the best camp.
Friendships with Jon Jones and Holly Holm also played a role in Shields moving to Jackson’s. She was working exclusively at Jackson’s, but went back to her boxing coaches to prepare for the Dicaire fight.
Now, with her MMA debut set, Shields will be spending her time at Jackson’s to prepare. So what should we expect from her PFL debut? I honestly don’t know. However, I do believe that the Pro Fight League will give her a layup of an opponent.
Shields is the type of athlete who wants to be tested, but I expect the promotion to play it slowly here. This will be Shields first MMA match period and she’s doing it on a big stage.
Expect PFL to give her someone that has decent skills but nothing to write home about. It will definitely be interesting to see how the boxing superstar does in her MMA debut and I’m very intrigued by the entire situation.