Claressa Shields (12–0 Boxing, 1-1 MMA), one of the leading names in modern combat sports, is all set for the next big chapter in her boxing career. However, the “GWOAT” has no plans to neglect her nascent MMA career, as she is eyeing a return to the cage at the 2022 PFL Finals in November.
Boxing needs to give the same opportunities to women: Claressa Shields
A two time Olympics gold medallist, Shields is a three division champion in pro boxing and is the reigning undisputed female light middleweight champion, as well as the unified WBA, WBC, IBF, WBF female middleweight champion.
The 27-year-old had her last outing in the squared circle against Ema Kozin back in February and is now gearing up for an undisputed battle against WBO female middleweight titlist and grudge rival Savannah Marshall on the 10th of September at the O2 Arena.

Speaking to MMA Junkie, Shields revealed that she plans to compete at the 2022 PFL Finals taking place this November, provided that all goes well in her clash against Marshall next month. While she sees herself to be a better boxer than a mixed martial artist, Shields states that MMA provides her with more opportunities than boxing,
ALSO READ: Claressa Shields says women’s MMA is marketed better than women’s boxing
“I’ll fight in November MMA, the PFL finals,” said Shields, “I’ll be fighting, I believe, in the co-main event, which I don’t want to. I keep telling them that, but they just expect so much out of me.”
“I win my fight Sept. 10, I take about a week off, and then I actually come back down here (in South Florida). I’ve been thinking about doing some training at ATT or trying to see if Henry Cejudo can come down here, and we do some training over here. We always have other fights and other bags to collect.”
Back in 2020, Shields penned a three-year contract with PFL and made her MMA at PFL 4 on 10th June 10 last year, defeating Brittney Elkin via 3rd round TKO. However, in her second PFL appearance, Shields went down against Abigail Montes via split decision at PFL 10 on 27th October.
“I got so many fans from doing MMA,” Shields went on, “I got endorsements, I got sponsors, I got movie deals, I got a lot from just two fights in MMA. It’s sad because I’m way better in boxing than MMA, but boxing needs to give the same opportunities to women, because if we’re being honest, in boxing I should be getting endorsements, sponsorships, the movie deals, magazine covers. Boxing should be giving those opportunities to women, but they’re not. But in MMA, they’re going to cut the checks.”
Purchase the UFC merch here.
Click to Predict here.