PFL featherweight champ Cris Cyborg just captured the WIBA women’s super welterweight belt on Saturday night, making her the first woman to ever hold world titles in both boxing and MMA simultaneously. Now she wants to take a big step up and face one of the biggest names in women’s boxing: Claressa Shields.
Cyborg, who is now 8-0 in boxing, absolutely destroyed Colombia’s Paulina Cardona (27-35-7) at an event in Parana, Brazil organized by her own Nação Cyborg Fights promotion. Cardona’s corner called
off the fight after the first round, earning Cyborg the vacant WIBA 154 pound world championship belt.
The 40 year old Cyborg has said several times that she plans on retiring from combat sports at the end of 2026, and is currently crossing some big goals off her list. Winning a boxing world title was one, and now she wants to face former friend turned rival Clarissa Shields, “The GWOAT.”
“8-0 in Boxing, WIBA 154lbs World Champion,” Cyborg wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Claressa Shields, you challenged me to a fight at 154 (before I had ANY boxing experience). I’m here. I am willing to move up to 160lbs TO FIGHT YOU.”
“I am willing to offer you 2 million dollars for the fight, but the fight must happen before the end of the year. You talk about how you’re the GWOAT. If you don’t accept, that acronym stands for GOOFIEST WOMAN OF ALL TIME.”
Cyborg made it clear that she’d pay the $2 million out of her own pocket to make the fight happen.
“I got 2 million dollars to offer her for a fight, double her highest career fight purse,” Cyborg tweeted. “It’s me who will pay her. I don’t have any problem moving it to escrow after a contract is signed. Why wouldn’t I put it up? I’m one of the highest paid female fighters of all time. Fighters own their own promotion companies in boxing.”
Cyborg is one of the most dominant fighters in WMMA history, but that history is full of missed opportunities and superfights that never came together. Ronda Rousey was the biggest fight that failed to materialize, but she also never got a chance to try and avenge her 2018 loss to Amanda Nunes. Now it seems like Shields may get added to the miss list, because “The GWOAT” no longer has any interest in fighting the Brazilian powerhouse.
“It’s 60 other girls who I know personally who will beat ts outta her,” Shields wrote in reply to Cyborg’s social media posts. “She can go fight them. And now she want to come to 160 but been [bitching] about it for 2 years plus.”
“Claressa was wanting to fight me when I had zero boxing fights,” Cyborg responded. “Now that I’m 8-0 she scared.”
As for her newly won WIBA belt being a sham?
“Same belt owned by Laila Ali, Holly Holm, Amanda Serrano,” Cyborg wrote.
The upper weightclasses of women’s boxing are not stacked with marketable opponents, so it’s pretty strange that Shields would shut down a Cyborg fight, especially with a $2 million dollar purse attached. If half the boxers Shields knows could swat Cris down easily, why not do it herself and collect the easy paycheck?
The clock is ticking on this potential fight as Cyborg prepares to retire. Here’s hoping it gets made.
