It’s no coincidence Savannah Marshall ended in the same MMA promotion as boxing rival Claressa Shields.

In October 2022, Shields defeated Marshall in the ring. But in a cage, it remains to be seen who would remain supreme. If all goes according to plan, fight fans should expect the rematch to take place under the PFL banner. In fact, that’s the driving factor as to why Marshall is transitioning to MMA.

“That’s the goal,” Marshall recently told MMA Junkie. “The goal isn’t really fighting me in a league or anything like that. The goal is to make a build-up and essentially have a fight with Claressa in the cage.”

READ MORE NEWS :Claressa Shields Rocks Detroit: Boxing Legend, Michigan Native To Appear At Draft Event As Featured Speaker

Marshall, 32, said she was approached by PFL following the boxing match with Sheilds at O2 Arena in London. Shields had already made the jump, but the idea of evening things up was too good to pass up – particularly as Marshall had already experimented with going down the MMA path.

“In 2013, I walked into an MMA gym and wanted to give it a go because I just seen that MMA was really taking off, especially for women. I did about one or two sessions and I remember thinking, ‘Oh, this is too much for me to grasp.’ So I kind of turned my back on it then. In the lockdown again, I just saw there was a lot of opportunities happening for women in MMA. So I had a couple of sessions with Molly McCann, who was with the UFC. Then, boxing took off on me and I shut the door on it again.”

Marshall makes her MMA debut on June 8 at 2024 PFL Europe 2 in Newcastle, England, against Mirela Vargas (1-2). While she’s taking it step by step, the end goal is obvious. Each fight that leads up to her potential showdown with Shields serves as an opportunity to hype the matchup.

JUST IN :EXCLUSIVE :Savannah Marshall could get her revenge against Claressa Shields in an MMA contest, says Dakota Ditcheva

Despite their competitive rivalry, Marshall said Shields gave her some pointers prior to her PFL signing. Initially, Marshall didn’t wrap her head around them. Now, she does.

“We’re not friends,” Marshall said. “We acknowledge each other and I’ve seen her just when I signed the contract before I’d done any MMA training. She kind of pulled me aside and said this, this, this, and this. Then obviously, once I did the MMA training, I went to her last fight in Saudi and said, ‘When I looked back it, I totally get what you’re trying to say.’ Because look, I thought I underestimated it massively. I thought it would’ve been like I’m the undisputed champion and I’m going to walk into this and that’s that. Clearly, it’s not like that at all. I’ve really underestimated the sport of MMA.”

RELATED NEWS :“Happened to Me 2X”: Claressa Shields Reveals Personal Trauma by Relating to Lil Wayne’s Recent Message

Marshall’s climb through the MMA ranks won’t be without boxing matches in between. PFL’s flexibility in allowing her to do both was a major factor in her signing. Marshall appreciates the ability to weigh her options at each turn.

“This is where the PFL have been really good with me,” Marshall said. “They know that boxing comes first. Really, it came at a brilliant time. … If the PFL wasn’t there, I would’ve been sat about waiting for a fight. So really, I’m looking at the PFL. It’s keeping me active. It’s not a boxing fight, but I’m still training. I’m still in a camp. The emotions of fight week are still happening.

UPDATE NEWS :Claressa Shields completes epic body transformation ahead of MMA comeback fight: ‘I conquered depression’

“But I’m just going to get June 8 out the way and then see. I might get in the cage and be absolutely terrible and think, “Jesus, that’s not for me.’ I might get in there and absolutely enjoy it and just think, ‘God, I want a bit more of that.’ I’m just going to see how June 8 goes first.”

MMA fighter Dakota Ditcheva considers how Savannah Marshall could match up with Claressa Shields in an MMA bout rather than a boxing match: “She’s just a natural fighter and a good athlete”; plus Peter Fury, Marshall’s boxing coach, explains how she is on course for the Shields rematch

Savannah Marshall has embarked on a new career in mixed martial arts to pursue her rivalry with America’s Claressa Shields.

READ MORE :“What’s the Point of This?”: Claressa Shields and Alycia Baumgardner’s Verbal Altercation Gets Fans Riled Up

Shields is boxing’s undisputed middleweight champion but recently competed in the PFL SmartCage and Marshall will make an MMA debut herself in June.

Shields beat Marshall in a thrilling 2022 title fight. Although Marshall went on to go undisputed at super-middleweight, they could meet again down the line, in MMA or boxing.

Dakota Ditcheva, an MMA fighter who also competes in PFL, believes Marshall could get her revenge in an MMA contest.

JUST IN :Claressa Shields Replies to Peter Fury’s Remarks About a Savannah Marshall Rematch

“It would be an exciting fight. Their journey in boxing together has brought a lot of eyes to the sport so I can only imagine it would be an absolutely amazing match-up in MMA as well. Savannah really impressed me when she came to train, I haven’t seen Claressa. But I’m backing Savannah 100 per cent, she really impressed me,” Ditcheva told Sky Sports.

She admires both for making this foray into a new sport.

RELATED :“Happened to Me 2X”: Claressa Shields Reveals Personal Trauma by Relating to Lil Wayne’s Recent Message

Savannah Marshall was an undisputed boxing champion, but expects her next fight to be in MMA; Marshall will also be on a scouting mission to watch her great rival Claressa Shields’ next bout in PFL and insists if they fought in four-ounce MMA gloves, the outcome would be different

Savannah Marshall’s pursuit of Claressa Shields continues in a second sport.

Shields and Marshall are fierce rivals, who boxed as amateurs and had an outstanding undisputed world title fight as professional boxers.

Marshall lost by unanimous decision but has long called for a rematch with the American.

Even though both have made their names as pro boxers, and will continue their respective boxing careers, both have also signed with MMA promotion PFL.

Marshall will go on a scouting mission to make sure she has a front-row seat to watch Shields’ next bout in PFL.

“I’m going to be there cageside, having a look, sizing her up,” Marshall told Sky Sports.

That is exactly what Marshall wants.

“I come up short in the boxing so I want another stab, so why not in a new sport altogether,” the Briton said.

She does think that their attributes will match up differently in an MMA contest with Shields.

“I really do. I’m interested to see how much she’s come on,” Marshall said. “I really want to see how she’s improved if she has.

“For anyone to switch sports takes a lot of guts, especially from what she’s achieved in her boxing career.

“She’s striving for greatness, isn’t she? So all the best to her and I think she’s taken her speed over to PFL so I’m sure she’ll do big things.”

Marshall does hit hard and believes that against Shields her punches will be even more effective in the small MMA gloves.

“Well, I’ve got to land first which is something that I didn’t do in boxing but little four-ounce gloves, they’re practically half the size. So definitely, a lot more damage to be inflicted,” she said with a smile.

“When you put them on and there’s nothing in them at all and you think, wow, these are dangerous.”

Marshall is training diligently at a mixed martial arts gym. She now expects to fight next in an MMA contest in the summer and only box again later in the year.

“I was hoping to fight in March [in] boxing but unfortunately that hasn’t come off so I’ll be fighting in June making my MMA debut with the PFL,” she said.

“It’s looking like the back end of the year now [for her next boxing bout], just as long as I get out before the end of the year I’ll be happy.”

While MMA is entirely new to her, Marshall insists she is enjoying the experience.

“Sometimes in training, I feel good and I think yeah I’m getting it now and other times I’m getting tapped like that and I think: ‘Jesus I am terrible at this.’ It’s exciting for me because it’s new,” she said.

“It’s BJJ, you’ve got kickboxing, you’ve got judo, wrestling so it’s a mix of all these different sports that I’ve never ever tried.”

Even getting taken down in sparring hasn’t phased her.

“They were just shooting straight for me and I couldn’t even see them coming because I wasn’t used to it,” she said.

“At the start, I was just overwhelmed by it. Now as the weeks have gone on I can look back and think right I was making so many mistakes at the start. Now I’m not.

“It’s exciting, it’s new, it’s something that I’m really interested in.”