Tag: Abigail Montes

Abigail Montes sees holes in Claressa Shields’ striking

Abigail Montes says that she sees holes in Claressa Shields’ striking ahead of their fight on Wednesday.

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

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Claressa Shields’ striking is as good as they come in boxing, but that’s not the same story when it comes to MMA according to her next opponent, Abigail Montes.

The Mexican fighter takes on Shields on Oct. 27 in a lightweight fight at the 2021 PFL Championship in Hollywood, Fla. Montes (2-0) will be Shields’ second professional bout in MMA. The two-time Olympic boxing gold medalist and boxing world champion made a successful transition to MMA in June, defeating Brittney Elkin by third-round TKO.

Montes recognized Shields’ prestigious background from watching her MMA debut, but didn’t think Shields fully translated her boxing skills to the cage.

“I saw her debut – obviously, her boxing is top level and it’s explosive and strong, but there are many holes,” Montes told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “Translating boxing to MMA is completely different. Adapting that to MMA is difficult because you have patterns from your entire life and you can’t change that overnight. It takes time. I’m telling you, I saw a lot of holes that I can take advantage of and use to get my win.”

Montes trains at Lobo Gym in Guadalajara, Mexico, alongside notable women’s MMA talents Alexa Grasso, Irene Aldana and Alejandra Lara. The bout with Shields is her first at 155 pounds. She fought at bantamweight and featherweight in her two professional bouts.

Coming from a gym that’s known for its striking, Montes is not just going to look to take the fight to the ground given Shields’ prestigious background. The unbeaten prospect is more than willing to exchange with the boxing world champion.

“I’m not afraid,” Montes said. “I don’t have to go in there and have to get the takedown. I’m going to take the fight how it presents itself. It’s MMA – I need to be prepared to fight in any area : top or bottom, jiu-jitsu or wrestling.

“I come from a team that has pure boxing like Alexa Grasso, who was just labeled in the UFC as having the most beautiful boxing in MMA. It’s adapting that classic boxing to MMA, and my trainer focuses on that, so I have that advantage. I have pure boxing, but adapted to MMA.”

As far as the magnitude of the matchup, Montes is exited to represent Mexico on the main card of a major MMA promotion. She sees Shields as a great career opportunity and is eager to share the cage with someone she looks up to.

“I knew of her. I follow her career and I knew that she had just made the jump to MMA,” Montes said, recalling how she got the call to fight Shields. “At first, I was taken away by the offer, but I never doubted on taking the fight because I saw it as an opportunity. But I was taken away by it and excited, too. It was like, ‘Wow in just my third fight I can fight someone that I follow and admire.’ That’s super cool. Things happen for a reason and opportunity doesn’t come twice, so here I am. ”

Video: Kayla Harrison vs. Taylor Guardado, more face off at 2021 PFL Championship weigh-ins

Watch the pre-fight staredowns from the 2021 PFL Championship weigh-ins in Hollywood, Fla.

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] might’ve done her final PFL staredown.

The two-time Olympic judo gold medalist and 2019 PFL champion squared off for the last time against her opponent [autotag]Taylor Guardado[/autotag] following Tuesday’s weigh-ins for 2021 PFL Championship. The two competitor are set to meet in the main event of Wednesday’s 2021 PFL Championship. They fight for the women’s lightweight title along with the $1 million prize.

Harrison (11-0) is set to become a free agent following her fight with Guardado. She has yet to revel wether she’ll re-sign with PFL or go else where.

The main card for PFL Championship airs on ESPN2 and streams on ESPN+ at 8:00 p.m. ET following the prelims on ESPN+ at 4:30 p.m. ET.

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Additionally other 18 fighters faced off including five other title bouts and four non-championship fights.

The staredowns include [autotag]Ray Cooper III[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Magomed Magomedkerimov[/autotag] (welterweight final), [autotag]Abigail Montes[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Claressa Shields[/autotag], [autotag]Bruno Cappelozza[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ante Delija[/autotag] (heavyweight final), [autotag]Movlid Khaybulaev[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Chris Wade[/autotag] (featherweight final), [autotag]Antonio Carlos Junior[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Marthin Hamlet[/autotag] (light heavyweight final), [autotag]Raush Manfio[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Loik Radzhabov[/autotag] (lightweight final).

Check out the pre-fight faceoffs in the video above.

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Claressa Shields blasts state of women’s boxing: ‘I should’ve started doing MMA sooner’

Claressa Shields blasted the state of women’s boxing, saying, “I should’ve started doing MMA sooner.”

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

 

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Claressa Shields is disappointed with how female athletes have been treated in boxing.

The two-time boxing Olympic gold medalist and undefeated champion doesn’t feel women have received a fair shake when it comes to opportunities competing professionally in the sweet science.

Shields (1-0 MMA) debuted in MMA last month under the PFL banner and is expected to return to the cage for her second bout on Oct. 27. She feels she had no option but to take her talents to MMA in order to maximize her earnings and stardom, as boxing wasn’t going to get the job done.

“I feel like I wouldn’t have switched over if I could become a household name in boxing,” Shields told MMA Junkie. “I feel like I did everything I could do in boxing to be that household name and get that million dollar check. Even with all my accomplishments, it’s still not enough. That just pissed me off in general.

“But I decided that you know, instead of retiring from boxing and saying, ‘F this sport,’ I’m going to keep defending my titles in boxing, but I’m going to use my youth of 26 and see what I can do by the age of 32, see if I can become MMA champion and a household name in MMA.

“I’ve already become a household name in MMA in the past few months just off one fight. So I should’ve started doing MMA way sooner. In boxing, you can only get so far and get so much notoriety, but in MMA it’s limitless.”

Shields feels boxing is not promoting female talent properly and the popularity of women’s MMA proves they have what it takes to take center stage in combat sports.

“It’s sexist for people to say that [women can’t sell] without giving up the opportunity,” Shields said. “That’s the thing. Start giving women the opportunity, start getting the numbers. And if women don’t sell, whatever if they don’t sell, do your job and promote the fights. Build the story. Have the girls push each other at weigh-ins and s—. Do your job. That’s what you’re supposed to do.

“But they feel in women’s boxing that that’s impossible. How is it impossible if women in MMA are doing it? I think guys at the top who don’t want to cut the check, they’re just saying all this stuff so they can save money. ‘Women can’t do this. Women can’t do that. That’s going to lose us money,’ when it’s not.”

Women in MMA often headline MMA events across all major promotions and some of the biggest names in the sport are female. Women’s MMA has come a long way in the last decade, and Shields strongly believes it’s due to the support that’s been given from the very top of the major organizations.

“Women’s MMA is way bigger than [women’s] boxing,” Shields said. “I don’t know why because boxing has been around way longer and we have better-skilled fighters when it comes to standing up. I feel like in MMA, women get more respect because they fight at the same time as the men.

“People at the top like Dana White, Peter Murray, all these different organizations they give women a platform and they build the women up. Now women are being the main event and guys are in the undercard of women because the women have more fans than the men, and they’re entertaining and they’re tough fighters.

“I think that in boxing women have never been given that opportunity on the forefront, to be pay-per-view, and you know, just to have those opportunities to fight in the co-main event of a big card, to grow our brand and stuff. We have to do things outside of boxing to grow our brand, and the men don’t have to do that.”

Shields returns to action in MMA on the main card of the 2021 PFL Championship on Oct. 27 against Abigail Montes. Kayla Harrison and Taylor Guardado will fight in the main event on that card.

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Claressa Shields blasts state of women’s boxing: ‘I should’ve started doing MMA sooner’

Claressa Shields blasted the state of women’s boxing, saying, “I should’ve started doing MMA sooner.”

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

 

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Claressa Shields is disappointed with how female athletes have been treated in boxing.

The two-time boxing Olympic gold medalist and undefeated champion doesn’t feel women have received a fair shake when it comes to opportunities competing professionally in the sweet science.

Shields (1-0 MMA) debuted in MMA last month under the PFL banner and is expected to return to the cage for her second bout on Oct. 27. She feels she had no option but to take her talents to MMA in order to maximize her earnings and stardom, as boxing wasn’t going to get the job done.

“I feel like I wouldn’t have switched over if I could become a household name in boxing,” Shields told MMA Junkie. “I feel like I did everything I could do in boxing to be that household name and get that million dollar check. Even with all my accomplishments, it’s still not enough. That just pissed me off in general.

“But I decided that you know, instead of retiring from boxing and saying, ‘F this sport,’ I’m going to keep defending my titles in boxing, but I’m going to use my youth of 26 and see what I can do by the age of 32, see if I can become MMA champion and a household name in MMA.

“I’ve already become a household name in MMA in the past few months just off one fight. So I should’ve started doing MMA way sooner. In boxing, you can only get so far and get so much notoriety, but in MMA it’s limitless.”

Shields feels boxing is not promoting female talent properly and the popularity of women’s MMA proves they have what it takes to take center stage in combat sports.

“It’s sexist for people to say that [women can’t sell] without giving up the opportunity,” Shields said. “That’s the thing. Start giving women the opportunity, start getting the numbers. And if women don’t sell, whatever if they don’t sell, do your job and promote the fights. Build the story. Have the girls push each other at weigh-ins and s—. Do your job. That’s what you’re supposed to do.

“But they feel in women’s boxing that that’s impossible. How is it impossible if women in MMA are doing it? I think guys at the top who don’t want to cut the check, they’re just saying all this stuff so they can save money. ‘Women can’t do this. Women can’t do that. That’s going to lose us money,’ when it’s not.”

Women in MMA often headline MMA events across all major promotions and some of the biggest names in the sport are female. Women’s MMA has come a long way in the last decade, and Shields strongly believes it’s due to the support that’s been given from the very top of the major organizations.

“Women’s MMA is way bigger than [women’s] boxing,” Shields said. “I don’t know why because boxing has been around way longer and we have better-skilled fighters when it comes to standing up. I feel like in MMA, women get more respect because they fight at the same time as the men.

“People at the top like Dana White, Peter Murray, all these different organizations they give women a platform and they build the women up. Now women are being the main event and guys are in the undercard of women because the women have more fans than the men, and they’re entertaining and they’re tough fighters.

“I think that in boxing women have never been given that opportunity on the forefront, to be pay-per-view, and you know, just to have those opportunities to fight in the co-main event of a big card, to grow our brand and stuff. We have to do things outside of boxing to grow our brand, and the men don’t have to do that.”

Shields returns to action in MMA on the main card of the 2021 PFL Championship on Oct. 27 against Abigail Montes. Kayla Harrison and Taylor Guardado will fight in the main event on that card.

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Video: Watch the faceoffs from the 2021 PFL Championship press conference

Check out the faceoffs from the 2021 PFL Championship press conference on Wednesday.

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – The finalists for the 2021 PFL season got a good look at each other on Wednesday afternoon.

Ten of the 12 finalists faced off at the pre-fight press conference ahead of their respective title bouts at the 2021 PFL Championship on Oct. 27 in Hollywood, Fla.

Ray Cooper III was unable to attend the press conference in person due to travel issues, thus why there was no staredown with Magomed Magomedkerimov.

The following matchups had staredowns on Wednesday: [autotag]Claressa Shields[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Abigail Montes[/autotag], [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Taylor Guardado[/autotag], [autotag]Movlid Khaybulaev[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Chris Wade[/autotag], [autotag]Marthin Hamlet[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Antonio Carlos Jr.[/autotag], [autotag]Ante Delija[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Bruno Cappelozza[/autotag], [autotag]Raush Manfio[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Loik Radzhabov[/autotag].

You can watch the full staredowns in the video above.

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Video: Watch 2021 PFL Championship press conference at 5 p.m. ET

Hear from all the 2021 PFL Championship finalists at the pre-fight press conference.

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – The PFL’s 2021 season is almost over as its championship finale is set to go down next month.

The event takes place on Oct. 27 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. It features six championship fights, plus three non-title bouts.

You can watch the pre-event news conference for the 2021 PFL Championship on MMA Junkie today at 5 p.m. ET.

Expected to take part are PFL president Ray Sefo, as well as [autotag]Claressa Shields[/autotag], [autotag]Abigail Montes[/autotag], [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag], [autotag]Taylor Guardado[/autotag], [autotag]Ray Cooper III[/autotag], [autotag]Magomed Magomedkerimov[/autotag], [autotag]Movlid Khaybulaev[/autotag], [autotag]Chris Wade[/autotag], [autotag]Marthin Hamlet[/autotag], [autotag]Antonio Carlos Jr.[/autotag],  [autotag]Ante Delija[/autotag], [autotag]Bruno Cappelozza[/autotag], [autotag]Raush Manfio[/autotag], and [autotag]Loik Radzhabov[/autotag].

Watch the pre-fight press conference live stream in the video above.

Kayla Harrison headlines 2021 PFL Championship; Claressa Shields returns on main card

The details around the finale of the 2021 PFL season are official as the promotion is set to crown another six $1 million champions.

The details around the finale of the 2021 PFL season are official as the promotion is set to crown another six $1 million champions.

The 2021 PFL Championship event will take place Oct. 27 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. The main card airs on ESPN2 and streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN+

Although divisional titleholder will be decided at heavyweight, light heavyweight, welterweight, lightweight and featherweight, much of the attention will be paid to the women’s lightweight final in the main event, where [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] (11-0) looks for her second PFL championship against sizable underdog [autotag]Taylor Guardado[/autotag] (3-1).

The other big attraction on the card has no championship stakes attached to it. Boxing world champion [autotag]Claressa Shields[/autotag] (1-0) will compete in her second MMA bout when she takes on [autotag]Abigail Montes[/autotag] (2-0).

Check out the complete 2021 PFL Championship lineup below, according to a press release the organization sent out on Monday:

MAIN CARD (ESPN2, ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)

  • Taylor Guardado vs. Kayla Harrison – women’s lightweight final
  • Ray Cooper III vs. Magomed Magomedkerimov – welterweight final
  • Abigail Montes vs. Claressa Shields
  • Bruno Cappelozza vs. Ante Delija – heavyweight final
  • Movlid Khaybulaev vs. Chris Wade – featherweight final

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 4:30 p.m. ET)

  • Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Marthin Hamlet – light heavyweight final
  • Omari Akhmedov vs. Jordan Young
  • Raush Manfio vs. Loik Radzhabov – lightweight final
  • Don Madge vs. Nathan Williams

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Claressa Shields confident she can handle careers in boxing, MMA: ‘Only the greats can do it’

Claressa Shields is confident she can handle careers in boxing and MMA, saying “only the greats can do it.”

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

***

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – For Claressa Shields, one thing is clear: She’s not going to leave boxing for MMA or vice versa.

Shields, the boxing champion who recently turned professional in MMA, has no intention to focus on one sport and plans to run careers in both simultaneously. A two-time boxing Olympic gold medalist, Shields has her second MMA fight booked when she takes on Abigail Montes at the 2021 PFL Championship event on Oct. 27. And shortly after her second go in MMA, Shields wants to get a boxing bout going for December.

Both sports are incredibly challenging, and some may think managing careers in both is an even harder task. Shields disagrees, and her answer as to why she’s doing this is simple.

“Because I’m the greatest, that’s why,” Shields told MMA junkie.

“Boxing is never going to be hard for me. Let’s just put it out. I’ve been boxing for 15 years. I’m a two-time Olympic gold medalist. Not a two-time Olympian, a two-time Olympic gold medalist. I fought against every kind of style you can fight against, and I’ve beaten them all. I’m a 12-time champion in boxing, three-time division, two-time undisputed. It goes on and on. All I need is four weeks to get ready for boxing.

“MMA, on the other hand, I would need more time to get ready. So the main thing is just to focus one fight at a time. That’s it. One fight at a time and just kind of go from there. I don’t think it’s going to be hard, and only the greats can do it.”

Shields isn’t trying to be arrogant. She’s out to become the greatest female fighter of all time, and she believes being a champion in both MMA and boxing will get her there.

“It was a scary transition (to MMA) and risky transition, but I did it because I wanted to prove to myself that I am the greatest of all time,” Shields explained. “I can do boxing, I can do great in MMA as long as I train and fight the fighters who are at my caliber level.

“But once it gets to the PFL league, I want to prove that I can be the PFL champion, so I’m starting from scratch. … I’m just going to keep training, keep my head down and don’t let all the lights go to my head.”

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Claressa Shields confident she can handle careers in boxing, MMA: ‘Only the greats can do it’

Claressa Shields is confident she can handle careers in boxing and MMA, saying “only the greats can do it.”

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

***

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – For Claressa Shields, one thing is clear: She’s not going to leave boxing for MMA or vice versa.

Shields, the boxing champion who recently turned professional in MMA, has no intention to focus on one sport and plans to run careers in both simultaneously. A two-time boxing Olympic gold medalist, Shields has her second MMA fight booked when she takes on Abigail Montes at the 2021 PFL Championship event on Oct. 27. And shortly after her second go in MMA, Shields wants to get a boxing bout going for December.

Both sports are incredibly challenging, and some may think managing careers in both is an even harder task. Shields disagrees, and her answer as to why she’s doing this is simple.

“Because I’m the greatest, that’s why,” Shields told MMA junkie.

“Boxing is never going to be hard for me. Let’s just put it out. I’ve been boxing for 15 years. I’m a two-time Olympic gold medalist. Not a two-time Olympian, a two-time Olympic gold medalist. I fought against every kind of style you can fight against, and I’ve beaten them all. I’m a 12-time champion in boxing, three-time division, two-time undisputed. It goes on and on. All I need is four weeks to get ready for boxing.

“MMA, on the other hand, I would need more time to get ready. So the main thing is just to focus one fight at a time. That’s it. One fight at a time and just kind of go from there. I don’t think it’s going to be hard, and only the greats can do it.”

Shields isn’t trying to be arrogant. She’s out to become the greatest female fighter of all time, and she believes being a champion in both MMA and boxing will get her there.

“It was a scary transition (to MMA) and risky transition, but I did it because I wanted to prove to myself that I am the greatest of all time,” Shields explained. “I can do boxing, I can do great in MMA as long as I train and fight the fighters who are at my caliber level.

“But once it gets to the PFL league, I want to prove that I can be the PFL champion, so I’m starting from scratch. … I’m just going to keep training, keep my head down and don’t let all the lights go to my head.”

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Claressa Shields booked for second MMA fight at PFL championship event on Oct. 27

Claressa Shields’ second MMA fight will take place in the PFL’s championship-crowning night.

[autotag]Claressa Shields[/autotag]’ second MMA fight will take place on the night the PFL crowns its next set of champions.

Shields (1-0) has been booked to meet [autotag]Abigail Montes[/autotag] on Oct. 27 in the promotion’s final event of the season at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.

PFL officials confirmed the booking Thursday after an initial report from The Washington Post.

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Shields, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and world champion boxer, made good on her MMA debut when she rallied to TKO Brittney Elkin in the third round of a non-regular season lightweight bout at 2021 PFL 4.

Mexico’s Montes is off to a 2-0 start in her professional MMA career. The 21-year-old picked up a unanimous decision over Claudia Zamora at Combate Americas 45 and a second-round finish of Teresita De Jesus Lopez at iKon Fighting Federation 6 in April.

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