Claressa Shields confirms she is done with MMA, set to focus solely on boxing
Women’s boxing sensation Claressa Shields has announced that she has no immediate plans on returning to mixed martial arts.
Throughout the course of her combat sports career, Claressa Shields has made a name for herself as a loud, in your face kind of fighter who has never been afraid to take chances. After becoming one of the biggest names in women’s boxing, she decided to test the waters in mixed martial arts with PFL – and it’s safe to say that the results were mixed.
Claressa Shields wound up with a record of 2-1, with her defeat coming via split decision. However, she did manage to get a whole lot better, and at just 30 years of age, the expectation was that she would continue to juggle both MMA and boxing moving forward.
However, in a recent interview, Claressa Shields confirmed that her in-cage career is going on the backburner.
Claressa Shields confirms she’s done with MMA
“MMA is done sweetheart. It was fun, but I don’t have enough time to train for it,” Shields said during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show.
“It takes 6-8 months to just get ready to defend takedowns. Even though I got a lot better, I put in time, I got my arm broken twice.”
“My family never wanted me to do it, I did it because I wanted to prove a point and I proved that point.
“I did have aspirations of being PFL MMA world champion, having a fight with Kayla Harrison one day or Larissa Pacheco, I did have those dreams.
“I’m great already in boxing, and to be great like that in MMA, I would have to train at least three, four years consistently.”
Quotes via DAZN
Fair play to Claressa Shields for going out there and daring to be great.
