Claressa Shields loses decision to Abigail Montes in second MMA fight

Boxing champion Claressa Shields lost a split decision to Abigail Montes in her second MMA fight.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on MMAJunkie.com.

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Claressa Shields’s MMA venture has taken a hit.

The multiple-time boxing champion suffered her first professional defeat, losing a split decision to Mexico’s Abigail Montes on the main card of Wednesday’s 2021 PFL Championship event.

The 2021 PFL Championship took place on Wednesday night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood. The main card aired on ESPN2 and streams on ESPN+ with the prelims exclusively on ESPN+.

Montes (3-0) defeated Shields (1-1) by split decision with scores of 29-28, 29-28, and 28-29 on the judges’ cards.

It was a fairly uneventful fight that had Montes being the more dominant fighter in the grappling department.

Montes mainly remained on the outside and looked to clinch and take the fight to the ground while avoiding Shields’ boxing. Montes wasn’t able to do much in Round 1, but she was able to have a good amount of success in Rounds 2 and 3.

In the second round, Shields had little offense and was pressed by Montes against the cage. Montes was also able to get the fight to the ground and control the fight there despite not having much of a striking offense.

In the third round, Shields didn’t get much of an offense on her feet. Montes got a takedown and controlled and landed ground-and-pound for half of the round.