Boxing champion Savannah Marshall will be stepping into the PFL Smart Cage for her MMA debut the week when she takes on Mirela Vargas at PFL Europe 2 on June 8, live on DAZN. Though she has a fierce competitor already in front of her, she has her eyes on another boxer turned MMA fighter ... Claressa Shields.
Marshall says after she fought Shields in the ring the PFL approached her to fight Shields in the cage.
"That's what got me to agree," Marshall told FanSided MMA. "If they'd have come to me and said 'you interested in joining our league' I'd have said no. I'm a 32-year-old, I don't want to be going up against girls who have a black belt in BJJ and have been wrestling since school."
Of course, a warm-up fight will happen first since Shields has already had several MMA fights to date. That doesn't mean Marshall will forget the goal.
"My focus is to fight Claressa in the cage and that's what got me to sign," she said.
Marshall lost to Shields in 2022 via a unanimous decision. It's the only loss of her professional career and she hopes a win in the MMA cage could even the score.
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