Cris Cyborg, Claressa Shields trade jabs on Twitter over proposed fight
By Amy Kaplan
MMA champion Cris "Cyborg" Justino and boxing champion Claressa Shields are two of the baddest women in their respective sports. Justino has held titles in four of the biggest promotions in MMA and Shields has dominated everyone who has been put in front of her in the boxing right.
But with the potential Bellator sale, and PFL potentially acquiring the Bellator roster, a fight between Justino and Shields in the MMA cage isn't totally out of the question.
And the two are negotiating that fight on Twitter and it's getting pretty spicy.
Justino suggested they do a 145-pound superfight, to which Shields replied, having an issue with the weight.
"You know I’m not fighting at 145," she tweeted. "154 It is. You cut weight just like me."
Justino didn't appreciate Shields trying to make the rules and fired back.
"I’m the bigger name and since YOU’RE NOT SKILLED ENOUGH to fight me in MMA I have to go to your sport…," she tweeted. "AND YOUR weight class? You really are in your own reality 'GWOAT'.”
She also tweeted, "I’m 16X world champion at 145lbs. More World Championship victories than all of your Pro Boxing and MMA fights combined. 145 or you can kick rocks."
Shields fired back with her own accolades tweeting, "13X world champ across the board weight class don’t matter but you can agree to 154 or fight those smaller girls who you have the confidence that you can beat, you know you can’t beat me."
Justino replied questioning Shields' stats.
"How you 13X world champion with 12 pro fights. You so goofy," Justino tweeted. "You’re right. Weight classes don’t matter. But why you picking rules then Open weight whatever you want to step on the scale mma fight. I will drop you on your head and dribble it like a basketball…but YOU know that."
Shields then shared a photo of the two sparring at RVCA and wrote, "Hahahaha you on good drugs. I have 14 fights I’m undefeated unlike you G money. And count them….3x undisputed. You do the math, do you want to fight or not Cris."
From there they began aguing about fighter pay
" problem is my MMA bag is double the size Claressa boxing bag," Justino tweeted.
Surprisingly, Shields agreed with Justino.
"Say what you want Women’s MMA is way further than Women’s boxing, but I get to my bag and beat tf outta bishes and make 7 figures now," she tweeted. "It’s a 100 ways to say no and 1 way to yes. If you don’t want to box against me, cause you can’t win, just say that."
The tweets were endless and went on for hours, nothing was ever agreed on, other than that they both want to fight. We'll have to see if PFL makes this fight and at what capacity if the aquisition does go through.