Boxing’s GWOAT Claressa Shields Officially Retires From MMA: ‘It Was Fun, But It Was Too Hard’

Claressa Shields is officially done with MMA.

After becoming the undisputed ‘GWOAT’ of women’s boxing, Shields felt it was time to conquer another sport. In 2021, she signed with the Professional Fighters League, making her promotional debut in June of that year against the well-rounded Brittany Elkin.

Despite some early adversity, Shields scored a ground-and-pound TKO in the third, leaving many to wonder if they’d just witnessed the birth of MMA’s next big female star.