Boxing champion Claressa Shields’ MMA debut has a date and opponent.
The PFL announced Wednesday that Shields will make her first appearance on June 10 at the PFL 2021, Week 4 event against Brittney Elkin. The fight, which will air as part of the ESPN2 main card, won’t be part of the promotion’s regular season.
Shields, who signed with the PFL last Nov. 30, is a former two-time Olympic gold medalist boxer. With her March 5 win over Marie-Eve Dicaire, Shields became the first two-division undisputed champion in the four-belt era.
Shields, 26, has trained in recent months at famed Jackson Wink MMA in Albuquerque, N.M., spending time with the likes of former UFC champions Holly Holm and Jon Jones.
“I am very excited to cement my legacy as the Greatest Woman of All Time,” Shields said in a PFL-issued statement. “I cannot wait to step into the PFL cage for the first time on June 10 and show the world that I never back down from a challenge. I have shown I am the best boxer in the world and eventually I intend to do the same thing as a mixed martial artist.”
Elkins posts an overall record of 3-6, having lost her past three fights. She hasn’t competed in MMA since January 2019. She also was Kayla Harrison’s opponent for her debut in June 2018, submitting to a first-round armbar.
