“Saudi is about the best of the best, and we wanted to give them the best of the best”.
“And, to me also, doing something that’s unique and never been done before.”
Those are the words of the founder of the Professional Fighters League (PFL) – Donn Davis.
Davis and PFL are behind the most talked about fight between two women, with undisputed female light middleweight title holder Claressa Shields and Kelsey De Santis going head-to-head in Riyadh over the weekend.
This historic event marked the first professional MMA bout held in Saudi Arabia.
Shields, a three-weight world champion in boxing, was visibly emotional when she was announced the winner, “There were days in camp where I was literally in tears.
I didn’t want to go back because it was so hard.” she said.
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With the win, Shields is setting a winning record in MMA after going 1-1 in 2021 against Brittney Elkin and Abby Montes.
The fight was Shields’ first fight in the PFL since losing to Montes 16 months prior.
Since she last competed in MMA, ‘The GWOAT’ (as Shield is affectionately known as by her fans) has racked up three more title defenses in boxing, with wins over Ema Kozin, Savannah Marshall, and Maricela Cornejo to improve to 14-0 in the ring.
Shields showed off her power in the lighter MMA gloves as she landed a big right hand in the opening minute, but DeSantis absorbed it well.
DeSantis wanted nothing to do with Shields’ hands and she began to work from half guard after taking the ‘GWOAT’ down.
DeSantis latched onto an armbar in the final 30 seconds of the opening round and it looked like Shields was about to tap, but she was saved by the bell.
The Michigan native Claressa Shields won a split decision on Saturday night.
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Meanwhile at the same event in Riyadh, Muhammad Ali’s grandson Biaggio Ali Walsh won an unentertaining decision in his professional MMA debut.
Ali Walsh, 25, had already fought seven times as an amateur going into his professional fight against Emmanuel Palacio at the PFL vs Bellator Championships event in Saudi Arabia.
The grandson-of-a-legend has become known for his knockout power, with all his six amateur wins achieved through knockout.
Davis said the PFL could take considerable pride in hosting the first major MMA event in Saudi.
The UFC debuts in the kingdom in June.
“Look, it’s very cool,” Davis said. “But to me, the thing that we’re most proud of is how good this card is for fans.
We know that the UFC brand is bigger than ours, so most people think the UFC has the best fighters. Not true. Biggest brand? True.
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