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It won’t be as quick a turnaround as previously reported, but Claressa Shields is officially set to return to the MMA cage. Professional Fighters League confirmed on Twitter that “T-Rex” will face 2-0 Abigail Montes on their October 27th championship event.
Claressa Shields will face Abigail Montes at the 2021 #PFLChampionship on Wednesday, October 27th!
— PFL (@PFLMMA) August 12, 2021
https://t.co/WYQE9B4A9y
Mexico’s Montes, 21, has beaten two debuting opponents thus far in her career. Footage of her most recent fight in April shows some decent kickboxing and ground skills; nothing spectacular, but definitely enough to make this a risky endeavor for Shields (11-0, 2 KO Boxing, 1-0 MMA), who needed a comeback TKO to get past Brittney Elkin in her June debut.
While I don’t see her having anywhere near as bright a future in MMA as in boxing, I definitely respect Shields’ willingness to test herself. Montes is far from a gimme, and if she finds herself in the same dominant positions Elkin enjoyed, her ground-and-pound is strong enough to put the “GWOAT” away.