Yesterday, it was revealed that Olympic gold medalist boxer Claressa Shields would be making her professional MMA debut with the PFL on June 10. Today, the PFL has revealed that her opponent will be none other than BJJ brown belt and F2W and Bellator veteran Brittney Elkin.
The promotion shared the news in a press release sent to the Jiu-Jitsu Times, adding that the rest of the card would be announced in the coming weeks.
The matchup will be an interesting clash of styles, with Shields — who signed with the PFL in December of last year — being widely recognized as the number-one pound-for-pound female boxer in the world and Elkin being an active and successful BJJ competitor. In the jiu-jitsu scene, Elkin is best known for her work with Fight 2 Win as both an accomplished competitor on the stage and as a worker behind the scenes. She’s currently scheduled to compete in the women’s expert bracket at High Rollerz 5 this month.
This will be Elkin’s second time competing for the PFL, and incidentally, her first appearance for the promotion also saw her featured in the MMA debut of another Olympic gold medalist: Kayla Harrison. Though the judoka went on to defeat Elkin, it’s clear that Elkin isn’t afraid of a challenge. She’ll be hoping to put herself back in the win column, while Shields will be aiming to make a big impact with her MMA debut.
Shields vs. Elkin will take place on Thursday, June 10, and can be streamed live on ESPN 2 and ESPN 3.
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