PFL CEO opens door to Cyborg vs. Shields boxing bout after PFL-MVP merger

Professional Fighters League CEO John Martin declared Cris Cyborg the most accomplished women’s MMA fighter in history after her victory over Ketlen Vieira at PFL Tampa, and confirmed that a crossover boxing bout with Claressa Shields is now a realistic option in the wake of PFL’s merger with Most Valuable Promotions.

Martin was effusive in his praise for Cyborg following what he described as a hard-fought five-round performance. “If you’ve never seen Cris Cyborg fight before, hopefully you can get an appreciation and an understanding of what a legend this fighter is,” he said in a post-fight interview. “She had a really tough fight tonight, but for five rounds, she fought every single round really, really hard. I thought she absolutely won.”

The fight was closely contested, and Martin also acknowledged the effort of Vieira, despite the Brazilian failing to make weight ahead of the bout. “Ketlen Vieira showed up,” he said. “Very disappointing she didn’t make weight, but she came in. She put up a very great fight.”

Cyborg used her post-fight platform to call out Claressa Shields, who recently claimed the WBA and WBC female middleweight titles by finishing Kaye Scott. Martin confirmed the PFL-MVP merger has opened the door to exactly that kind of crossover event. “Since we’ve announced the merger with MVP, we can now talk to our MMA fighters about if they want to box — the possibility exists,” he said.

The merger between PFL and Most Valuable Promotions, the boxing outfit co-founded by Jake Paul, has been positioned as a vehicle for precisely these kinds of cross-discipline matchups. Whether Cyborg and Shields ultimately share a boxing ring remains to be seen, but Martin’s comments suggest the conversation is already underway.