PFL’s Abigail Montes Has a “Secret Stragegy” for Claressa Shields

Fort Lauderdale, FL — Booked as the second opponent for boxing champ Claressa Shields in MMA, Abigail Montes is in an interesting spot at this week’s PFL 2021 World Championship card.

Despite Montes having more experience in MMA, Shields in the star, and the favorite based on her striking prowess. Montes (2-0), meanwhile, trained in all aspects of the sport ahead of the fight, rather than focusing on just nullifying the two-time Olympic gold medalist’s stand-up.

“We went through every single scenario,” Montes told media outlets including Cageside Press on Monday, during a media day promoting Wednesday’s final card of the season, “and we have a secret strategy heading into this fight night.”

Of course, being a secret strategy, Montes wasn’t about to give too much away. But later, she’d expand on her approach against Shields.

“We all know her boxing is high-level, it’s elite,” acknowledged Montes. “But in MMA, you’re putting everything together, and on Fight Night when we’re in the cage, I’m going to set up traps, set up different things to confuse her, throw up stuff at her that she’s not going to be expecting. So when everything comes together in MMA, I’m going to be the one to shine.”

The Mexican fighter also questioned Shields’ decision to continue competing in boxing alongside MMA. “When you’re training boxing and MMA, how committed are you really? It’s very difficult to do both at the same time, and especially to the level that we’re competing at,” she stated. “And I know that heading into fight night, I want it more than her, and I’m going to get that victory over Claressa.”

Watch the full PFL 2021 World Championship media day appearance from Abigail Montes above. More coverage can be found below. The event takes place this Wednesday, October 27, 2021, in Hollywood, FL.