Claressa Shields is not at all intimidated by Cris Cyborg.
Though she still sits as the reigning Bellator MMA featherweight champion, Cyborg’s status with the promotion remains up in the air following the PFL’s late 2023 buyout. In the interim, she has been testing her skills in the boxing ring, earning wins over Simone da Silva, Gabrielle Holloway, and Kelsey Wickstrum.
During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, the self-proclaimed GWOAT of women’s boxing slammed Cyborg’s boxing skills, noting that the two combat sports icons had spent some time sparring together a few years back.
“Look, I’ll be honest with you, when I sparred against Cris Cyborg in 2018, I took it easy on her,” Shields said. “I let her and her team doctor up a video to make it look close, but the first and second round, I beat the sh*t out of Cris Cyborg. She cannot box, OK? And then we were supposed to work together more, but after I beat her in sparring, she didn’t want to spar no more.
“But I told her, ‘If you ever need me in your camp for boxing, let me know, because I’ll still come and help you. We don’t [have to] spar.’ She never called me. So for her to be saying she’ll knock me out at 147 [pounds], and power this and power that — Cris Cyborg has power in MMA because you have all those different arts you can use. In boxing, Cris Cyborg can’t mess with me on a day that I’m sick with the flu.”
Claressa Shields: In boxing, Cris Cyborg, she can't mess with me on the day that I'm sick with the flu.#TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/nxIaOwPDRn
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) February 28, 2024
Claressa Shields Does Not Recommend That Ryan Garcia Attempt to Fight Sean O’Malley
Shields also took a moment to chime in on the brewing rivalry between former interim WBC lightweight champion Ryan Garcia and UFC bantamweight titleholder Sean O’Malley. Garcia ruffled some feathers on Monday when he told Helwani that with a few months of training, he would “destroy” ‘Sugar’ inside the Octagon.
Shields, who has competed in MMA action three times thus far, offered a word of advice to her boxing brother.
“I saw that. He said three months. Ryan, no,” she said. “Unless Ryan has been working the ground game secretly for a year or two, I would not recommend that and I’m just saying that because I want the boxers to win and if the GWOAT can’t spend six months getting ready for Amanda Nunes and beat Amanda Nunes, Ryan Garcia can’t spend three months to get ready for Sean O’Malley.”
Claressa Shields: If the GWOAT can't spend 6 months getting ready for Amanda Nunes and beat Amanda Nunes, Ryan Garcia can't spend 3 months to get ready for Sean O'Malley.#TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/vjtn42vhPD
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) February 28, 2024
With Claressa Shields and Cris Cyborg contracted to the same promotion, there’s a very good chance we could see the two of them go toe-to-toe in some fashion. When it comes to a prospective scrap between O’Malley and Garcia, we would advise you to not hold your breath.
Shields returned to the Smart Cage at last weekend’s PFL vs. Bellator supercard in Saudi Arabia, scoring her second career MMA victory over Kelsey De Santis via split decision.
Watch the full episode of The MMA Hour below:
