American women’s undisputed middleweight champion Claressa Shields has overcome her second opponent in MMA when she faced Kelsey DeSantis on the undercard of the cross-promotional event between the PFL and Bellator on February 24th, held at the Kingdom Arena in . Shields represented PFL on the card.
The match between Claressa Shields (14-0, 2 KO’s) and Kelsey DeSantis ended in a split-decision win for Shields who overcame adversity due to DeSantis’ well-rounded ground game and aptitude in submissions. The first round saw Shields venture close to a loss as DeSantis managed to grapple Shields into a submission armbar that Shields barely managed to wring herself away from.
Following the nigh loss she suffered in the first round, Claressa Shields managed to rebound through her stand-up game during the final two rounds where her boxing skills flourished and DeSantis proved to be unable to match Shields in this department. While there were several close calls―with DeSantis’ wrestling and grappling giving Shields plenty of problems, the undisputed middleweight champion proved her resilience as a fighter, and her determination helped her close out the match as she was ruled the winner by a tight split-decision from the judges.
With her win over DeSantis, Shields netted her second win as a MMA professional and now stands at a record of 2-1 within the sport. Following her close-knit victory, a highly-emotional Shields expressed her intent to further improve as a MMA fighter.
“I had such a hard camp,” Shields stated during the post-match interview while nearly in the verge of tears.
“It’s not easy what I’m trying to do, and I’ve been so respectful of the sport, and I put in a lot of hard work [in] to this.
“I’m just going to go back to the gym and work harder but I almost got my arm snapped in a fricking armbar―I had to fight out of that. I couldn’t quite figure it all the way out the third round, but I know I had a strong first round, and I definitely had a hard second [round], and I won the beginning of the third round so… I just want to thank Kelsey [DeSantis] and her team for accepting the fight.“
Shields also spoke on some of the problems she seemed to encounter during her training camp for her February 24th fight.
“I just want to thank my team; Team Joaquin [Buckley], coach Justin; they pushed me so hard in camp. There were days in camp where I was literally holding in [back] tears, and I was not considering going back to the gym because it was so hard. But I forced myself to go back, and that’s how I got the win tonight.“
Though Claressa Shields indicated she would return to the ring rather than the cage for her next fight, there might be a potential fight on the cards for her between her and MMA legend Cris Cyborg based on the recent heated interactions they have had on social media. As both fighters have competed in MMA and boxing, there does lie an opportunity for them to stage separate fights in their disciplines and strive to prove who is the best female fighter on the planet.
Francis Ngannou (0-1, 0 KO’s) was also present during the event to witness the main event between Brazilian PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira, and American Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader. Ferreira shocked those in attendance when he defeated Bader in just 21 seconds by technical knockout [punches], becoming the only PFL fighter on the main card to win during the event.
With the PFL having announced the winner would be facing Ngannou prior to the fight, PFL fighter Ferreira is expected to face Ngannou sometime this year. With both fighters signed to the same promotion, their bout is likely to happen but is contingent on Ngannou’s upcoming March 8th match against Anthony Joshua (27-3, 24 KO’s)―which is set to be held in the same venue as the PFL–Bellator event at the Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia.
Depending on the outcome of his fight with Joshua, Ngannou will need ample time to recover and prepare if he is to face Renan Ferreira considering the Cameroonian former UFC heavyweight champion has not competed in the sport of MMA since January of 2022.
