Undefeated Boxing Champion Claressa Shields Ponders Transition to MMA

This quote is really making me consider trying the @ufc ! I had this weird feeling about turning pro a few years ago and I stumbled up on this quote & decided to do it! And then yesterday this same quote reappeared! With all this talk about me and Nunes I had that same feeling. pic.twitter.com/6N7TkR909R

— ClaressaT-rexShields (@Claressashields) July 30, 2019

Female boxing star Claressa Shields seems to be taking more of an interest in possible mixed martial arts career.

On Tuesday, Shields posted the following quote from sports medicine physician Dr. Jordan Metzl: “You need a goal that scares you a little bit.” She mentioned that the quote helped with her decision to turn pro in boxing and that it could have a similar effect regarding a foray into a new combat sports discipline.

“This quote is really making me consider trying the [UFC],” Shields wrote on Twitter. “I had this weird feeling about turning pro a few years ago and I stumbled upon this quote [and] decided to do it! And then yesterday this same quote reappeared! With all this talk about me and [UFC two-division champion Amanda Nunes] I had the same feeling.”

Thus far, Shields’ primary connection to the MMA world has been a training relationship with ex-UFC featherweight queen Cristiane Justino. Shields is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and a champion in multiple organizations at women’s middleweight in boxing.

In recent weeks, both UFC president Dana White and Shields have addressed the possibility of a boxing match with Nunes. However, it now appears that Shields could be willing to cross over into Nunes’ world in the future. Shields is coming off a victory over Germany’s Christina Hammer in April that improved her professional boxing mark to 9-0.