Boxing Standout Claressa Shields to Face Brittney Elkin in MMA Debut at PFL Event on June 10

Two-time Olympic gold medalist and world champion boxer Claressa Shields has an opponent for her first mixed martial arts bout.

Professional Fighters League announced Wednesday that Shields will meet Brittney Elkin at a regular season event on June 10 in Atlantic City, N.J. Shields will compete in one-off bouts during the 2021 campaign before participating in the PFL season format in earnest in 2022. Shields is expected to continue her boxing career while she competes in MMA. She has been training at Jackson-Wink MMA in Albuquerque, N.M., of late alongside the likes of Holly Holm and Jon Jones.

“I am very excited to cement my legacy as the ‘Greatest Woman of All Time,’” said Shields. “I cannot wait to step into the PFL cage for the first time on June 10 and show the world that I never back down from a challenge. I have shown I am the best boxer in the world and eventually I intend to do the same thing as a mixed martial artist.”

Elkin, meanwhile, also served as the debut foe for Olympic judoka and reigning 155-pound PFL champion Kayla Harrison for her promotional debut in June 2018. The Colorado native, who was submitted by Harrison in the opening stanza, owns a 3-6 professional record with a notable victory over Bellator MMA talent Gabrielle Holloway.

“I’m very grateful to be back in the PFL and to have this opportunity to square off with Claressa Shields,” Elkin said. “I know she is a great boxer but this is MMA and I plan to show everyone that I am a well-rounded fighter who can compete wherever the fight takes me.”