USC star Juju Watkins declares $5 million worth Claressa Shields a "GOAT" as MMA star breaks sensational record: "Sheesh"

It was business as usual for USC star Juju Watkins as she registered a double-double of 26 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists in the Trojans' season-ending 70-55 win against the Arizona State Sun Devils.

Off the court, Watkins praised the $5 million worth MMA fighter Claressa Shields (as per Fan Sided MMA) on being the first woman to fight in a professional MMA match in Saudi Arabia when she recently beat Kelsey de Santis via split decision.

The USC star captioned her Instagram story:

"Sheesh," Watkins wrote.

Shields won her first MMA fight since 2021 when she lost to Abigail Montes and now has an MMA record of 2-1 alongside her 14-0 boxing record.

Watkins praised Shields on her Instagram story

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Claressa Shields details the difficulty of MMA

Claressa Shields is a professional boxer and her transition to MMA has been impressive. After the win against Kelsey De Santis, she detailed how hard the preparation for the fight had been.

“I had such a hard camp,” Shields said. “It’s not easy what I’m trying to do and I’ve been so respectful of the sport. I put a lot of hard work in, I’m going to go back to the gym and work harder. I almost got my arm snapped in the freakin’ armbar. I had to fight out of that."

“There was days in camp where I was literally in tears," Shields added. "I was not considering going back to the gym because it was so hard but I forced myself to go back and that’s how I got the win tonight.”

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Juju Watkins continues her good form

The talented Juju Watkins snagged Pac-12 Freshman of the Week Award No. 14 of the season to close out what has been an almost perfect season for the star freshman.

According to The Athletic, WNBA legend, Sue Bird made a huge claim about Watkin's future career in college basketball.

“There are other players right now in college basketball where you can feel excitement. JuJu Watkins is killing it at USC and could arguably end up being one of the best players ever. I’m not saying that loosely; it’s because of the way she is starting her career,” Bird said.

With all of the USC records that she's already breaking, Watkin's career is reminiscent of a young Caitlin Clark and the predictions about her future are based on merit.

Juju Watkins is 63 points behind USC legend Cheryl Miller's record of 814 points scored in a single season and with a chunk of the postseason yet to come, it's not inconceivable that she will soon hold the record outright.