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Claressa Shields should not be discouraged by her first professional MMA loss, according to former UFC and current Bellator champion Cris Cyborg.
The Brazilian extended her support to Shields, who recently suffered a stunning split-decision defeat against Abigail Montes at Wednesday’s PFL World Championship finale. Cyborg tried to console Shields by posting a photo of them together on Twitter with the caption:
"Keep your head up @Claressashields I love how you are young and courages and not afraid to challenge yourself. The way you’re inspiring an entire generation of women to not be afraid of greatness is what makes you so powerful!"
Cris Cyborg, of course, is not speaking out of turn as she too suffered an early-career setback. The former UFC women's featherweight champ lost her pro-MMA debut against Erica Paes in 2005.
A highly touted prospect in women's MMA, Shields was derailed by former Olympic wrestler Montes, who outgrappled her to secure the victory. Wrestling proved to be Shields' greatest weakness as Montes repeatedly took her down with relative ease. After three rounds, two judges scored the contest 29-28 in favor of Montes, while one scored it 29-28 for Shields.
It's the first time Claressa Shields has tasted defeat in her combat sports career. 'T-Rex' is 11-0 as a professional boxer and won her MMA debut against Brittney Elkin in June.
Jake Paul throws shade at Claressa Shields
To nobody's surprise, Jake Paul jumped on the opportunity to take his shot at Claressa Shields. 'The Problem Child' congratulated Abigail Montes and praised boxer/MMA fighter Amanda Serrano, who fought on his undercard in August, while taking a dig at Shields. The message read:
“The truth hurts but it’s necessary. Claressa Shields is a loser. In MMA, and even more so with her prima donna attitude. The fake always get exposed. Losses come when anger and hate take over. Just ask Rousey and McGregor. She spent more time berating Jake Paul than learning Jiu Jitsu. She’s never been a big draw and unfortunately for her she never will be. Amanda Serrano (the GWOAT) though, has 30 KOs in 42 fights. 2-0 in MMA, both wins by submission. Congrats Abigail Montes on the win.”
The feud between the two combat sports personalities began when Shields was asked if she would consider fighting on Paul's undercard. In response, the former boxing world champ said, "Don’t ever disrespect me. I would never fight on the undercard of Jake Paul." The pair have since been at odds.
