Claressa Shields, arguably the greatest female boxer to ever compete, says she will not be returning to mixed martial arts.
“T-Rex” or “GWOAT” as she is often refereed to, has held multiple world boxing championships in five weight classes and is the only boxer in history, female or male, to hold all four major world titles in boxing—WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO, in three weight classes.
Despite all that, the 30-year-old Shields decided that she was going to dabble in the world of MMA and signed with the PFL in 2021. She competed three times in the sport, winning two bouts and losing one split decision.
Overall, Shields did well in MMA, but on Monday she told Ariel Helwani that she is “done.”
Claressa Shields is done competing in MMA: Oh no, MMA is done, sweetheart. #HelwaniShow pic.twitter.com/IEeX3A9h6t
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) May 19, 2025
“It was fun, but I don’t have enough time to train for it,” Shields said. “It takes six to eight months just to get ready to defend takedowns. Even though I got a lot better and put in the time, I broke my arm twice. It was fun, and I enjoyed every fight I did.
“I’m already great in boxing, and to be great like that in MMA, I would have to train consistently for at least three to four years.
“I did really well in MMA. It was fun, but it was too hard.”
