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Brittney Elkin jumped at opportunity to be first woman to fight Claressa Shields and Kayla Harrison

Brittney Elkin welcomes being a part of history, even if it’s the part that fight fans tend to overlook.

When PFL star Kayla Harrison made her MMA debut in 2018, she was understandably built up as one to watch. She is the first American to win Olympic gold in judo. And the first to do it twice. That combat sports background made her a shoo-in to pursue a career in MMA and after some initial reticence, she leapt headfirst into cagefighting and defeated her first opponent via armbar submission inside of a round.

A similar level of hype surrounds Claressa Shields when she competes in MMA for the first time this Thursday at PFL 4 in Atlantic City, N.