Claressa Shields was tested by Brittney Elkin but rallied to win her MMA debut by a third-round TKO.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on MMAJunkie.com.
***
No longer just a boxer, Claressa Shields is now a winning mixed martial artist.
Shields (1-0), the two-time Olympic gold medalist and champion boxer, made her long-awaited MMA debut on Thursday at 2021 PFL 4 against Brittney Elkin (3-7) in a non-regular season lightweight bout, rallying to win by third-round TKO. The fight served as the main event of the evening at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J., which aired on ESPN 2.
Elkin kept Shields at distance early by threatening with kicks. A minute into the fight, Elkin shot in for a takedown and successfully completed the attempt. The first test of Shields’ career on the mat was answered, as she worked her way back to her feet briefly, and ended up on top of Elkin after a scramble and began landing some hard punches.
Elkin was able to regain her position on top, keeping the ground pressure high on her opponent. A few moments later, she transitioned to full mount and began switching between hunting for submissions and landing ground and pound until the round ended.
Shields began the second round with a little more urgency by letting her hands fly and landed a couple of good punches. Elkin wasn’t interested in spending too much time on the feet and took the fight to the mat again, returning to full mount.
Elkin didn’t rush anything from the position, knowing she was the more experienced fighter on the mat. Towards the end of the round, she jumped on an armbar attempt, but Shields was ready to escape it and get to her knees. From there, Shields landed hard punches until the round ended while Elkin covered up.
The third round began with Elkin shooting in for a takedown that Shields defended well. After the sprawl, Shields rained down hard punches while Elkin held on to her opponent’s legs. With the threat of regaining position lessened, Shields continued to throw punches on the ground until the referee saw enough.
“I feel like I am dreaming! This is crazy,” Shields said during her post-fight interview.
After stuffing the takedown in the third round, Shields’ corner wanted the boxer to return to the feet to let her hands go.
“They were saying let her up, and I just told myself, ‘hell naw’,” Shields said.
Shields, 26, joined the PFL in 2020 and has been training at Jackson Wink MMA for over seven months alongside former UFC champions Holly Holm and Jon Jones to prepare for the jump from the boxing ring to the cage. On Thursday, the takedown defense she picked up in the training room led her to victory.
Undefeated in the boxing ring, she can now call herself an undefeated MMA fighter as well after an impressive crossover debut in Saturday’s main event.
