“There wasn’t a lot of options,” Undisputed boxing champion Savannah Marshall on transitioning to MMA with the PFL

Undisputed boxing champ Savannah Marshall transitions to MMA with PFL.

“There wasn’t a lot of options,” Undisputed boxing champion Savannah Marshall on transitioning to MMA with the PFL

Savannah Marshall (Image via: Instagram)

Since James Toney lost miserably to Randy Couture, no mainstream boxing champion ever tried their luck in MMA. That changed when Claressa Shields, a two-division undisputed boxing champion, signed with the PFL and fought in MMA. Shields’ former opponent, Savannah Marshall, is now on the same path.

Like Shields, Marshall is also an undisputed champion. She achieved the feat in her recent fight against Franchón Crews-Dezurn. It was a surprise for boxing fans to hear Marshall looking to make her MMA debut after she became an undisputed boxing champion. Marshall revealed the reason in her recent interview with MMAJunkie‘s Mike Bohn.

I've boxed for a long, long time. I've boxed for 23 years, and yeah, I've come off probably the biggest win of my career, becoming Undisputed. But there wasn't really a lot of options for me there in boxing. So, like I said, this got presented to me, and it was an opportunity really that I couldn't have said no to.
Savannah Marshall via MMAJunkie
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Marshall revealed that the PFL approached her after she lost to Claressa Shields. She had earlier planned to do MMA in 2013 and even talked about it with Molly McCann, who later signed with the UFC. However, at the time, she found the variety of disciplines too much to handle.

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Like Claressa Shields, Marshall’s PFL debut is on the main event. At PFL Europe 2 2024 on June 6, she will lock horns with Mirela Vargas in a lightweight matchup. The Brazilian Vargas sports a 1-2 record and will certainly be a good test for Marshall on her debut.

Savannah Marshall reveals the hardest thing to grasp in MMA

When Savannah Marshall steps inside the smart cage on June 6, it will be the second instance of an undisputed boxing champion doing it. Both are female, and no male boxers have done it recently. Ryan Garcia has flirted with the idea, but it’s unlikely to happen.

Savannah Marshall
Savannah Marshall (Image via: Instagram)

Transitioning from boxing to MMA is extremely difficult. Claressa Shields lost her second MMA fight and eked past her third fight via split decision. Marshall knows that fighting in MMA is entirely different and difficult than boxing. In her recent interview, Marshall revealed the toughest thing to grasp in her MMA transition.

The biggest, probably the biggest change, well, the hardest thing for me to grasp was changing my boxing style. Obviously, in boxing, I lean quite far back on the back leg. I see your front legs turned in. I have my hands quite low, so all that has to change. I gotta square right off, weight in the center, if not over the front foot, and hands around the head really because there's punches there, kicks coming. So, that was the hardest thing for me to grasp.
Savannah Marshall via MMAJunkie

However, Marshall revealed she enjoyed grappling. She is not an expert in grappling but enjoyed being a novice after a long time being elite in boxing. Moreover, she called her grappling sessions a humbling experience.

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