#Claressa shields mma debut professional

And then it was over.' The work that Claressa Shields has put into her MMA training at JacksonWink is already paying dividends, even though there's a long road ahead. 'But I'm like, 'I'm not letting her up.' Then she turned towards me, I pushed my hips down again and kept hitting her.

'Coach kept saying, 'If you get her on the ground, let her up,'' Shields said. Then, against her coaches' best judgment, Shields elected to keep the fight there on the mat, delivering damage from top position. To get that win, Shields showed off the fruits of all the training hours she has put in at the gym - and then defied the coaches who had prepared her.Īfter being taken down and controlled on the canvas for much of the first two rounds - but never absorbing significant damage - Shields finally started landing strong punches early in the third, and she sprawled on the canvas to fend off a takedown attempt. 2 in the ESPN women's boxing pound-for-pound rankings - is 11-0 in that sport and now 1-0 in her new one. Shields, the undisputed world boxing champion at junior middleweight and a three-belt champ at middleweight - and No.

Shields finishes off Elkin by TKO in MMA debut.

When Shields walked into JacksonWink MMA seven months ago, she was essentially an empty canvas in her new sport. But Holm also had a kickboxing background prior to starting MMA. She's not even the first in her gym, as she trains with the same team in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that is home to Holly Holm, a former boxing champion who went on to win the UFC women's bantamweight championship.

#Claressa shields mma debut professional

Shields is not the first professional boxer to win an MMA bout. She earned a TKO win in the third round of a special showcase featured bout against Brittney Elkin at PFL 4 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. On Thursday night, she showed a different side of her championship mettle by surviving a rough two rounds in her MMA debut before turning the fight her way. She has showed that for years in the boxing ring, winning gold medals in two Olympics and becoming a three-division world champion (twice undisputed) in an undefeated professional career. “I had to look these girls up, I had to know who is in the tournament, what their record, what their background is, and I did a whole little background check on the list.Claressa Shields is a champion. “The PFL have announced their lightweight division for the PFL league, and even though I’m trying so hard to not think about MMA, I had to look up every last one of them girls’ names. “I can’t wait to get back in the MMA gym,” Shields said. In the meantime, Shields says that while she’s certainly focused on that matchup, she’s keeping an eye on the PFL roster, as well.

Up first is a boxing match against fellow champion Marie-Eve Dicaire on March 5. Shields will not take part in PFL’s upcoming season format, which kicks off in April, but will instead be booked in featured matchups during the promotion’s 2021 run. I took it, I use it, and hopefully everything goes as it’s supposed to go.” He could have just seen it and kept on, but instead he was like, ‘I’m going to give out this advice,’ and it was great. “I just feel when Conor reached out, I feel like in a way he actually cared and he was wishing me good luck, and that’s what I appreciated most,” Shields said. In a recent interview with Betway Insider, the reigning WBC and WBO female light middleweight champion said she appreciated the suggestions from McGregor and was utilizing them in her training. Shields signed with PFL this past November and is expected to make her MMA debut later this year. Finding the target of the temple of the person moving her leg around! Think coziness! Good luck Clarissa! Excited to see you progress! Crucial going forward! Have her play with her punching while balancing on the single also. Get her real cozy hopping on that single leg! Improve her hamstring flexibility as well as balancing ability. Teach her balancing on the single leg first! Warm up / warm down for EVERY session – Pick the single leg and move her around. This past December, McGregor commented on an Instagram post featuring Shields’ MMA training at Jackson Wink MMA, and the former UFC two-division champion had some pretty in-depth recommendations. Two-time Olympic boxing gold medalist Claressa Shields says she not only appreciates some recent advice from Conor McGregor, but she’s using it in the gym ahead of her MMA debut.