Boxing has always placed a huge value on an undefeated fighter, and with the weight brackets falling the way they do, we also tend to see some of the bigger fighters go on longer winning streaks. Those who make it to the top continue to look for harder challenges too, unifying belts across weight divisions and organisations - and some even looking to other sports.

The biggest so far has been Conor McGregor making his move into the boxing ring to challenge the all-time great Floyd Mayweather - the Irish MMA star made his move into boxing to challenge the undefeated Floyd and it went as many had imagined - but it was also something that many could see having the potential of going either way if it hadn’t been against the 50-0 all time great - and whilst we see rumblings of fighters who are looking to make the change, the latest to really push for it is the unified and undisputed middleweight champion in Claressa Shields.

Photo credit:  Stephanie Trapp/Showtime

We have seen some small steps toward a potential change - sparring footage has been released of Claressa practicing some kicks and some movement as well as working with an established wrestler, but has stated herself that she is a long way out. We have seen such transitions from women martial artists in the past too - most namely with Holly Holm, who had proven herself as both a dominant boxing champion as well as an accomplished kickboxer - moving on to winning the UFC bantamweight belt in 2015.

If she does move to MMA, however, she may have a difficult task ahead of her - she will no doubt have some tune-up fights, but one fighter she has praised and inevitably has her eyes locked on will be the current champion Amanda Nunes. Many of the current top women UFC fighters have quite full repertoires with a history in boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, or jiu-jitsu which pushes the bar of entry a little higher as many skills are needed.

Whatever happens, and whatever choices are made, one thing for certain is that this will be a huge draw - it always is when two big names get together. The previously mentioned bout between McGregor and Mayweather having $100million paydays and bringing in record PPV numbers, there will be plenty of interest for those looking to cash in a little as organisers and promoters will want to get their piece, and fans alike stocking up on their bonus codes and discount codes to get the most out of their betting opportunities.

Especially amongst the outbreak of the coronavirus, any possibility is still looking to be quite some time away, however, as it stands with all the talk of bigger mainstream boxing fighters making a move to the UFC, this seems to be the most likely currently. We’ve all had witness to the rumblings of money Mayweather wanting to step into the octagon, but the likelihood of that is extremely low, especially as Floyd is getting on it years - gypsy king Tyson Fury sparked some hopes after releasing some sparring footage with UFC star Darren Till, but had release a statement suggesting that if he ever were to take an MMA fight, it would have to be with adjusted rules to stop any wrestling or jiu-jitsu - purely a stand up fight with punching and kicking. Will we ever see it? Who knows, he’s thrown some names out there but if it were to happen, it’s likely still a very long way out from ever being a reality.