Olympic Boxing Champ Claressa Shields to Make MMA Debut vs. Brittney Elkin on June 10

Olympic gold-medal winner and undefeated boxing champion Claressa Shields is going to test her skills in the world of mixed martial arts. 

Per ESPN.com, the Professional Fighters League announced Shields will make her MMA debut on June 10 against Brittney Elkin. 

Speaking to ESPN's Michael Rothstein last month, Shields explained the thought process that led her to attempt fighting in mixed martial arts:

"I had to make a list of pros and cons with that and figure out what it was that I wanted out of MMA. Was it just to do one fight? Was it to make a career out of MMA? What was it that I wanted to do. I had the time to think about it. If I had been boxing all of 2020, I wouldn't be fighting MMA because I wouldn't really have had the time to think about it."

Elkin has a 3-6 career record in mixed martial arts. Her most recent bout was against Bobbi Jo Dalziel with No Mercy Elite Fighting in January 2019. 

Shields is widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound women's boxer in the world. She has an 11-0 professional record and became the undisputed light middleweight champion on March 5 with a unanimous decision win over Marie-Eve Dicaire.

In addition to her professional success, Shields became the first American boxer to win consecutive Olympic gold medals. She defeated Nadezda Torlopova in the finals at the 2012 Games in London and Nouchka Fontijn in the 2016 finals.