'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
After a massively successful boxing career of five years, Claressa Shields is set to make her much-awaited transition to mixed martial arts this year.
It was announced in November last year that Claressa Shields had signed a three-year contract with the PFL and has started training for her MMA debut. 'The GWOAT' will fight Brittney Elkin at PFL 4 on June 10, 2021.
In a recent sit-down interview with TheMacLife's Oscar Willis, Shields shed light on why boxers don't usually want to compete inside the octagon. She believes it is simply because MMA training is a harder task to accomplish than boxing.
"They don't have to, if that makes sense. It's just extra work. With me being 26 is like the extra work is needed for me because my overall picture of me being a champion and me being a champ is not what everybody else thinks. People think like you're a 12-time world champ, what else do you want? What it's like for me, I got stuff inside me that I want, that people may not understand, you know? That's why I'm here at MMA. With the men, I think they can train like this for a month. But I think. a lot of professional men would be like 'Hell no, we're not doing that' because it really is challenging and a lot of professional champion men don't know how to humble themselves, even in boxing," Claressa Shields stated.
Claressa Shields explains why MMA is harder than boxing
As someone who has been inside the ring and will soon be inside the cage, Claressa Shields weighed in on the boxing vs. MMA argument.
She explained that mixed martial arts is much harder to learn and execute because of the multiple aspects of the sport, as compared to boxing, where anyone can 'build some toughness and put up a decent fight' inside the ring, even if they don't win.
"There's a lot of boxers who say 'Oh I'll kick this person's a*s or I'll do this' but it's like 'Well you fight them in the cage.' And the answer has always been 'No'. Floyd Mayweather didn't get in the cage with Conor McGregor. Conor McGregor got in the ring with Floyd though. In a way, boxing is hard, yeah, I have been doing it for 15 years - one loss my entire life. But it's like, MMA training is so much harder, because there's so many different arts. So many different ways to do one thing."
Claressa Shields has been lauded by top UFC stars like Conor McGregor, Jon Jones and Holly Holm for her decision.
'The Notorious' went a step further and stated that she's showing 'real courage a lot of her male counterparts do not possess'.
