Claressa Shields signs multi-year deal with PFL for MMA bouts

Shields and the Professional Fighters League announced a multi-year agreement on Wednesday and she expects to enter the cage again in 2024 at 158 pounds.

FILE - Claressa Shields. | Photo Credit: AP

Two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-division boxing world champion Claressa Shields is returning for another round of MMA fights.

Shields and the Professional Fighters League announced a multi-year agreement on Wednesday and she expects to enter the cage again in 2024 at 158 pounds. The undisputed middleweight boxing champion went 1-1 in the PFL in 2021 but is widely regarded as the top pound-for-pound female boxer.

“All my fans, y’all have been asking me, when are you getting back to MMA, when are you getting back in the cage,” Shields said in a video posted on social media. “Well, here you go. Me and the PFL have signed a great seven-figure deal.”

Shields is 14-0 with two knockouts as a pro boxer, including a unanimous decision over Maricela Cornejo in June.

“It is a privilege to announce the PFL has re-signed the most dominant women’s boxer in the world, Claressa Shields, to a new multi-year agreement,” said Peter Murray, CEO of the Professional Fighters League.

The PFL announced a week earlier the signing of Amanda Serrano, the undisputed featherweight boxing champion. Serrano has a 2-0-1 MMA record, with both wins by submission.