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Undisputed boxing world champion Claressa Shields secured her second victory in MMA after a split decision win over Kelsey De Santis in Riyadh.<\/b><\/p>\n
The fight made history as the first professional MMA bout in Saudi Arabia featuring two women.<\/p>\n
Shields, a three-weight world champion in boxing, was visibly emotionally when she was confirmed the winner.<\/p>\n
“There was days in camp where I was literally in tears. I didn’t want to go back because it was so hard,” she said.<\/p>\n
The MMA event came 18 months after British fighter Ramla Ali and the Dominican Republic’s Crystal Garcia Nova became the first female boxers to compete in a pro fight in the kingdom.<\/p>\n
Shields was competing on the undercard of the Professional Fighters League’s champion versus champion event, in which Bellator’s best compete against the PFL’s best.<\/p>\n
Women’s rights continues to be a major issue in the country despite recent reforms, and human rights groups continue to say sport as a whole is being used by the Saudi government to distract from long-standing reputation issues and accuse it of sportswashing<\/a> by investing in high-profile events.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n