Claressa Shields fires back at ‘jealous’ Cris Cyborg: ‘She’s fighting bums’

Despite resumes that place them among the greatest female fighters in combat sports history, there is very little respect between Claressa Shields and Cris Cyborg.

Cyborg has won mixed martial arts championships in Strikeforce, UFC, Bellator and PFL. And she also has five wins in five trips to the boxing ring since turning professional in 2022. After scoring a first-round stoppage over the weekend, Cyborg took to X to take a shot at Shields, the undefeated phenom who has captured two Olympic gold medals and world championships in five weight classes.

“Only 5 boxing fights but I’ve already got more KO’s than [Claressa Shields],” Cyborg’s post read.

During an appearance on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” Shields addressed Cyborg’s post.

“She’s fighting bums in boxing and she’s yelling out, ‘Oh, I’ve got more knockouts than Claressa,'” Shields said. “Yeah, fighting against bums. She’ll never be able to get in the ring with a world champion and beat them.”

Shields and Cyborg have a history of calling each other out for fights, with both women crossing from their realm into the other’s at various points. While that has never led to a bout in either boxing or MMA, the pair did spar previously and Shields used the interview to share her side of what happened when the two met after being asked if she would be interested in a fight with Cyborg.

“She seems to be on drugs,” Shields said. “I f—ed her up in sparring. 2019 or 2018, I did it jetlagged off of a plane. I flew from Michigan, and I had just had an eight-round fight for the WBC silver belt [against Tori Nelson]. I flew to LA, sparred against Cris Cyborg and we were supposed to go for six rounds but I only kicked her ass for four because she was about to cry. So we didn’t do the last two. That’s the real deal. We never sparred or trained again after that.

“Cyborg was saying, ‘Come to MMA and I’ll help you train.’ She was jealous, she was envious, and she was plotting, but she’s really upset that she couldn’t beat me in a fight.”

Beyond a wild disparity in experience in their MMA and boxing records, weight will likely always be an issue in a potential fight between Cyborg and Shields, with Cyborg fighting at 145 pounds, while Shields competes primarily at 160 to 175 pounds.