Mexican fighter Abigail Montes won a surprise victory over the United States’ Claressa Shields in a mixed martial arts (MMA) bout in Florida on Wednesday.
Montes, a 21-year-old from Guadalajara, prevailed via a split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) in the Professional Fighters League showdown with Shields, a two-time Olympic winner who is widely considered the world’s greatest living female boxer.
It was just the third professional MMA fight for Montes and her first outside Mexico. She now has a 3-0 record.
It was Shields’ second professional MMA bout and her first loss. She announced her plans to transition into MMA last year and had her first fight in June.
Abby Brave, as Montes is nicknamed, was particularly dominant at the tail end of the third and final round, landing 15 unanswered blows.
“Montes went for broke in the final minute, positioning herself on top of Shields and letting her hands go,” the website Boxing Scene reported.
The tapatía, as a female native of Guadalajara is colloquially known, told Mexico News Daily earlier this month that she was confident going into the fight.
“I’m ecstatic to get such a big opportunity. I’m at my mental and physical peak and getting such a big fight is the perfect opportunity for me to seize,” she said.
With reports from Reforma and Boxing Scene
