Olympic gold medalist boxer Claressa Shields ready for Professional Fighters League MMA debut

To be a champion in MMA, fighters must be well-rounded both in stand-up techniques and on-the-ground techniques.

Claressa Shields has proven to be a force to be reckoned with in the stand-up format. Before transitioning to MMA, Shields was an Olympic boxing champion, winning Olympic gold in 2012 and 2016. Shields compiled an undefeated 11-0 record in professional boxing.

Now, Shields prepares for a new challenge in mixed martial arts. The Flint, Mich., native is working with some of the best in the business at Jackson Wink MMA in Albuquerque, N.M., with head coach Greg Jackson. Jackson Wink is home to some of the best fighters in the world, including former champions Jon Jones and Holly Holm.

Holm is the only UFC champion to retire from boxing and then have major success in the UFC. Shields will look to pattern her game after Holm. Most notably, Holm is one of only two people to defeat UFC legend Ronda Rousey. Holm landed a head kick to complete one of the biggest upsets in UFC history at UFC 193 in Australia.

For Shields, having that kind of meteoric rise to the top will be challenging as she has only been training for the MMA ground game for seven months. The game plan for her opponent Brittany Elkin is clear, take the fight to the ground as fast as possible. Nobody wants to stand and trade punches with Shields because of her elite striking ability.

With such little time training to fight on the mat, will the former boxer be able to defend takedowns effectively in her Professional Fighters League (PFL) regular season debut? In the PFL, each fighter gets two fights during the regular season, with hopes of making the playoffs. The fighters can get points in the standings based on method of victory. Fighters can earn up to six points for a first round victory, five points for a second-round victory, four points for a third-round victory and three points for a decision.

Shields is not the only big name fighting on the PFL 4 card Thursday. Anthony “Showtime” Pettis makes his second appearance in the PFL, after losing to Clay Collard in his debut in April. The former UFC light weight champion made a name for himself with his ferocious knockouts. For Pettis, 11 of his 24 wins have come via knockout. Now, Anthony Pettis is in a must win situation needing a win versus Alexander Martinez to keep his playoff hopes, and maybe his career, alive.

The enormity of the result of a fight is what sets MMA apart from any other sport. One win can catapult a fighter into title contention, while one loss can end a fighter’s career. It will be interesting to see what happens to the trajectory of the careers of Shields and Pettis Thursday night. MMA fans will be tuned in for some great action this Thursday, June 10 with the main card starting at 10 p.m. on ESPN2.

ESPN+ Card 6 p.m.

Clay Collard vs Joilton Lutterbach, Natan Schulte vs. Mikhail Odintsov, Lance Palmer vs. Lazar Stojadinovic, Marcin Held vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier, Akhmed Aliev vs. Loik Radzhabov, Movlid Khaybulaev vs. Sheymon Moraes, and Chris Wade vs Arman Ospanov

ESPN2 Card 10 p.m.

Claressa Shields vs. Brittney Elkin

Anthony Pettis vs. Alex Martinez

Bubba Jenkins vs. Anthony Dizy

Brendan Loughnane vs. Tyler Diamond