Shields, 30, is best known for her boxing accolades. The Flint, Michigan native has held titles in five weight classes, and is considered one of the best female boxers of all time. However, several years ago, she boldly transitioned into MMA.
All three of Shields’ MMA bouts occurred under the Professional Fighters League (PFL) banner. In her first, in 2021, she weathered some early adversity to stop Brittney Elkin in round three. In her next fight, later the same year, she lost a close decision to Abigail Montes. Her final fight occurred last year, after a long hiatus, when she beat Kelsey DeSantis by decision.
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show on Monday, Shields revealed she will not compete in MMA again.
She claimed that the PFL offered her the opportunity to fight one more time, but she decided to turn the offer down, and shift her focus back to boxing.
“I was offered one more fight with the PFL and it would have been against a girl who was probably on my level,” she said.
“MMA is done, sweetheart,” she added. “I don’t enough time to train for it. It takes six months, eight months to just get ready to defend takedowns. I got a lot better, I put in time, I got my arm broken twice. It was fun and I enjoyed every fight. I did.’
Why is Claressa Shields retiring from MMA?
Claressa Shields revealed that her new relationship factored into her decision to retire from MMA.
“My family never wanted me to do it,” she said. “I did it because I wanted to prove a point and I proved that point.
“I got in my new relationship, and he can’t even handle me boxing. He’s going crazy when I’m fighting, even when I’m dominating. We had a talk and he was like ‘I can not handle MMA.’ He was like ‘can you please not do that anymore.’ I was like ‘Ok.’”
Shields should be proud of the success she had in MMA. Very few boxers have attempted what she did, let alone with any success.
However, she admits she did hope to win a PFL title.
“I did have aspirations to become PFL MMA world champion, and having a fight with Kayla Harrison one day, or Larissa Pacheco,” she said. “I did have those dreams, I did have those aspirations, but just not enough time. I’m great already in boxing. To be that great in MMA, I would need to train at least three, four years consistently.”
Congrats to Claressa Shields on a great MMA career.
