MMA vs. Boxing: Cris Cyborg and Claressa Shields engage in fiery banter over battle of bragging rights
Cris Cyborg and Claressa Shields have engaged in intense banter over the long-running MMA vs. Boxing combat sports debate, with each side insinuating that their sport is the superior one. Cyborg is a former Strikeforce, Invicta, and UFC women's featherweight champion.
Heralded amongst the greatest MMA fighters ever, the 38-year-old Cris Cyborg (27-2-1 MMA, 2-0 boxing) is the reigning Bellator women's featherweight champion. Besides, the Brazilian-American combat sports legend has competed in Muay Thai, submission grappling, and boxing.
On the other hand, the 28-year-old Claressa Shields (14-0 boxing, 1-1 MMA) is regarded as one of the greatest boxers today. Shields won gold medals in the middleweight division in boxing at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.
After transitioning to professional boxing, 'T-Rex' won the unified WBC and IBF female super middleweight titles, the undisputed female middleweight title, and the undisputed female light middleweight title. The American athlete has also competed in two MMA bouts. Shields fights in the PFL MMA organization.
Fresh off a spectacular win over longtime rival Cat Zingano, Cris Cyborg recently tweeted that she'd like to fight boxing superstar Katie Taylor next. Claressa Shields chimed in on Twitter (X) and challenged Cyborg to face her instead.
Cyborg responded by proposing a 145-pound 'MMA vs. Boxing' super-fight, and Shields hit back by indicating that she competes at 154 pounds and wouldn't want to cut down to fight the Brazilian-American athlete.
They then jibed at one another over the weight stipulation for their potential super-fight, with Cyborg calling for a matchup at 145 pounds and Shields seemingly accusing her of fighting smaller opponents. Cyborg proceeded to challenge Shields to an open-weight MMA fight and implied that Shields wouldn't dare to face her under MMA rules.
Check out a few screenshots of the Cyborg-Shields Twitter (X) banter in the images displayed below:
MMA vs. Boxing: Comparing Cris Cyborg's boxing run to Claressa Shields' MMA career
Cris Cyborg boasts a professional MMA record of 27 wins, two losses, and 1 NC (No Contest). Besides, she's unbeaten in professional boxing, going 2-0 in the ring thus far. In her boxing debut, the striking savant and fearsome KO artist bested Simone da Silva via unanimous decision in September 2022.
Her latest boxing bout saw her beat Gabrielle Holloway by unanimous decision in December 2022. Moreover, Cyborg has confirmed that she's set to return to the boxing ring in January 2024.
Meanwhile, Claressa Shields made her professional MMA debut against Brittney Elkin under the PFL MMA banner in June 2021. 'T-Rex' defeated Elkin via third-round TKO. Following that, her most recent MMA matchup, a lightweight bout in the PFL against Abigail Montes in October 2021, ended with Montes winning by split decision.
As of late, Cris Cyborg has primarily competed in MMA, whereas Claressa Shields has stuck to the boxing realm. Nevertheless, the duo have often expressed interest in fighting one another in an MMA vs. Boxing crossover fight. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen.