Claressa Shields is a power in boxing and a rising star in MMA however discovered herself in deep waters in opposition to Holly Holm, a former UFC champion. ‘GWOAT’ Shields just lately opened up about an intense coaching expertise with one of the crucial achieved figures in fight sports activities, Holly Holm.
Claressa Shields Coaching with Holly Holm
Recognized for her legendary profession in each boxing and MMA, Holm put Shields to the take a look at in a brutal coaching session that left the undefeated champion questioning what she had gotten herself into.
In a current interview, Shields recalled a second throughout her MMA coaching camp, the place she discovered herself face-to-face with the seasoned veteran, Holly Holm. “I’m in a coaching camp, preparing for the struggle, proper? They usually bought me there with Holly Holm, and so they’re like, initially, Holly is an OG. She’s an OG. Holly Holm and Jonny Bones—Holly Holm is an OG,” Shields started, highlighting Holm’s expertise and standing within the preventing world.
The session was designed as a “huge boxing day,” however with a twist. Each fighters wore massive gloves, permitting for punches whereas nonetheless incorporating takedowns. Nevertheless, not all fighters have been keen to face and commerce blows. “Some persons are like, ‘Look, I’m not good at standing up, so I’m gonna take you down,’” Shields defined.
As Claressa Shields threw punches at Holly Holm, she was stunned when the MMA veteran retaliated with a kick that brought on a minor damage. “I’m speaking about, I’m giving Holly the palms—the large rights, growth growth growth. I’m—man, she threw a kick. Man, her toenail lower my nostril and nicked me. I stated, ‘Oh, [expletive], it’s actual!’”
The state of affairs escalated rapidly as Holly Holm took Claressa Shields to the bottom, forcing the boxing champion right into a place she was unfamiliar with. Shields admitted, “Then I get mad, I begin charging her, hitting her—hitting her—growth, growth. She took me right down to the bottom, and I couldn’t rise up. I couldn’t rise up. The best way she was placing her head inside my chin and my neck, the way in which she was placing her elbow on me—I’m like, ‘What the hell am I purported to do down right here?’”
Together with her coaching crew urging her to work on the strategies she had been taught, Claressa Shields discovered herself struggling to flee. “Man, I stated, ‘That is for actual.’ I stated, ‘What did I get myself into?’”
Shields’ journey into MMA has been marked by spectacular achievements. She made a profitable debut in 2021 with the PFL and received her first struggle by TKO within the third spherical. In boxing, Shields holds an undefeated document of and she or he made historical past as the primary boxer to carry undisputed titles in a number of weight courses concurrently within the four-belt period.
Holly Holm is a former world champion boxer and UFC icon has additionally made her mark in each sports activities. Holm retired from boxing with a formidable document and transitioned to MMA, the place she famously defeated Ronda Rousey to develop into the UFC Ladies’s Bantamweight Champion in 2015. Moreover, she holds a spot within the Boxing Corridor of Fame.
Claressa Shields will subsequent look to defend her title in opposition to Danielle Perkins on February 2, and can seemingly compete in MMA later this yr as properly. Holly Holm continues to be an energetic fighter and a staple of the UFC.
