Jon Jones Trains With Claressa Shields, Excited For Her MMA Future
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones believes Claressa Shields has a bright future in mixed martial arts.
The former women’s unified middleweight boxing champion recently made the transition to MMA after making headlines with her move to the Professional Fighters League (PFL) late last month.
To further emphasize how serious she is taking up her new sport, Shields is training with one of the top gyms in the world in Jackson Wink. The likes of Holly Holm, Michelle Waterson and Jones notably train there as the latter is working alongside Shields as she prepares for her eventual debut.
“@claressashields becoming even more dangerous @jacksonwink_mma“
And after a few days, it’s seemingly evident to Jones that Shields will exceed expectations in the sport.
“@claressashields reminded me what it was like to be 25 again, this woman could train all day. Excited about her future”
Given that Jones is regarded by many to be one of the greatest fighters of all time, if not the best, that’s certainly high praise for the 25-year-old Shields.
That said, Shields isn’t completely done with boxing. In fact, she plans on competing in both sports.
“I’m still gonna box and do MMA at the same time,” Shields said. “I could box in my sleep. That’s not something that I really have to worry about.
“I’m gonna spend a lot of time learning and just growing in MMA, but I’m still gonna accept my mandatory challenges in boxing. I’m gonna fight those girls. I’m gonna beat them, but I plan on having maybe two or three boxing matches and two to three MMA fights next year.”
It’s certainly going to be interesting to see how she fares in her debut.
What do you think of Shields’ future in MMA?
