Tag: PFL

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.

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.

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. ”

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. ”

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.”

[mm-video type=video id=01fgt2dqvxw59a0kb30t playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fgt2dqvxw59a0kb30t/01fgt2dqvxw59a0kb30t-ae803cd6a99fd01f7c46b2274d0a373b.jpg]

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.

[lawrence-related id=22563,21001,20998]

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.”

[mm-video type=video id=01fgt2dqvxw59a0kb30t playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fgt2dqvxw59a0kb30t/01fgt2dqvxw59a0kb30t-ae803cd6a99fd01f7c46b2274d0a373b.jpg]

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.

[lawrence-related id=22563,21001,20998]