"She's starting to blast double people all day long" - Mike Winkeljohn on the evolution of Claressa Shields' MMA game
Claressa Shields is one of the most decorated female boxers of all time. She is now determined to shine in the mixed martial arts world as well. Her coach Mike Winkeljohn believes that 'T-Rex' will become an MMA champion soon.
During a recent conversation with journalist Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Winkeljohn claimed three-division boxing world champ Shields was getting better with each training session.
"I rate her debut honestly as a nine. She was in over her head in many ways with the grappling. But oh my goodness, that girl can fight. You know she was punching from the back. It was fun to watch the want to not to lose that she has. She's getting better. She's in the gym and she's gonna win a world title. There's no doubt about it. She's got tremendous hips. So she's starting to blast double people all day long. She's using her hips well to defend. She's very athletic and strong. So I'm excited about her future," said Winkeljohn.
Claressa Shields is currently signed with the Professional Fighters League. She made her MMA debut at PFL 4 in June this year. Shields defeated Brittney Elkin via TKO in a women's lightweight bout, which served as the event's headliner.
Watch Mike Winkeljohn in conversation with Ariel Helwani below:
Claressa Shields will square off against Abigail Montes at PFL 10 this month
Claressa Shields' next MMA bout will be against Abigail Montes during PFL 10 on October 27. She was initially scheduled to feature at both PFL 8 and 9, but that didn't materialize.
Shields is 11-0 in her professional boxing career and is the current WBC, WBO, IBF, WBA (Super), and The Ring female light middleweight (super welterweight) champion. She also holds the WBA, WBC, IBF, and The Ring middleweight belts.
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Claressa Shields has the distinction of being the only boxer in history to have held all four major world titles — WBA, WBC, WBO, and IBF — simultaneously in two different weight classes. She has also won world championships in the super middleweight category.
During her amateur career, Shields claimed two consecutive Olympic gold medals in the women's middleweight division, at both London 2012 and Rio 2016.
The 26-year-old American superstar now aims to make a statement in the MMA world amid the likes of Amanda Nunes and Cris Cyborg while also dominating global boxing.