When is Claressa Shields' next fight, and will it be her PFL debut?
After being the most dominant female boxer for nearly five years, Claressa Shields is set to explore the realm of mixed martial arts. 'T-Rex' will make her MMA debut on June 10 against Brittney Elkin.
Shields' first MMA fight will be under the PFL banner. However, the much-awaited matchup will not be a part of the promotion's regular season. Shields and Elkin will collide in a showcase lightweight bout. Shields' MMA debut announcement was made by the PFL in April earlier this year.
In 2020, the undisputed light middleweight champion revealed that she intends to take a break from boxing and switch to MMA.
Shields managed to establish herself as the most decorated female pugilist in her five-year-long boxing career. She won the WBA and IBF light middleweight title in 2018 and went on to become the undisputed champion the following year.
Overall, Claressa Shields has amassed a perfect 11-0 professional boxing record. Her most recent outing was opposite Canada's Marie-Eve Dicaire, whom she defeated via unanimous decision in March this year.
Despite switching to MMA, Shields has repeatedly stressed that she has not retired from boxing, and will continue to box in the future.
Why did Claressa Shields join PFL instead of the UFC?
Claressa Shields' picture-perfect boxing record made her the most popular female boxer in the world. That said, if someone with as big a stature as Shields decides to switch to MMA, fans will most certainly question if she's joining the world's leading MMA promotion - the UFC.
Shields, however, said she would rather hone her overall skill-set before signing with the UFC. In an interview with MMA Fighting, the 26-year-old revealed she had a conversation with Dana White about her MMA debut. She said:
"It was just the conversation. It wasn’t like 'hey come and train a few months and then fight against the best girl we have at your weight,'". "I feel like that’s unfair to me. It’s not giving me enough time to learn. If you’re talking about letting me train for two years and then fight against the best girl you have, all right cool".
“The conversation with Dana (White) was almost like a one-fight deal kind of a little bit. With the PFL it was more like 'let’s train, let’s start you off at this level and as you work your way up, the competition will get harder' and then I would have a chance to fight in the PFL season in 2022."