Over the last two decades, exhibition fights featuring boxers and MMA fighters have increased. While purists in the boxing arena might raise a few brows at this, fans have uniformly been excited by the possibility of seeing major crossovers between MMA’s many disciplines and the classical world of boxing.

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Some of the biggest exhibitions between boxers and MMA stars include fights between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Tenshin Nasukawa back in 2018, which brought together the worlds of boxing and kickboxing. Another recent match was between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou, which saw Fury walk away the victor—barely.

Other examples, like Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren and Mohammed Ali vs. Antonio Inoki, highlight just how surprising some results can be. Overwhelmingly, the evidence shows that boxers perform better than MMA fighters (except for the debatable case of Ali vs. Inoki)—which isn’t surprising considering these exhibitions are all structured as boxing matches.

In terms of viewership and engagement, these types of fights garner massive attention. They’re also hugely popular for bettors and sportsbooks. For the most part, sportsbooks like BetMGM offer lines on the outright winner and other bets that cover the match’s outcome. However, they also go in-depth on each round to forecast which fighter will dominate each round, and which moves they’ll rely on.

Clearly, there’s impetus for male competitors to take on these types of exhibition matches. But what about female boxers? Valentina Shevchenko is one of few MMA fighters to make the transition, taking down Nerys Rincon in 2011 and Halanna Dos Santos in 2010.
For a while, the world was waiting on the edge of its seat to see if an Amanda Nunes versus Clarissa Shields battle would materialize. However, it hasn’t quite panned out yet—so, which MMA fighters could transition into boxing? Let’s take a closer look.

Amanda Nunes

Almost every MMA fan has wondered whether The Lionness will step into the ring. She’s won titles in two divisions and taken on the greats—from Cris Cyborg to Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey. There’s no better candidate, it seems, to take on a boxer. So what’s holding Nunes and her team back from booking an exhibition fight?
According to some pundits, it’s not Nunes’ skillsets or her inability to attract an opponent. Instead, she tends to fly under the radar. Despite being the most accomplished female fighter of all time, she hasn’t sold out seats like Rousey, for example. (A good parallel to draw would be Demetrious Johnson—one of the most accomplished male MMA fighters who doesn’t necessarily have star power.

Weili Zhang

Like The Lioness, plenty of MMA fans would go the distance to see Magnum take on an opponent in the boxing ring. She’s one of few competitors who started at a very young age in Shaolin Kung Fu, which has made her a riveting fighter to follow. In terms of boxing, Zhang managed to out-strike Amanda Lemos an astounding 296-29 back in 2023—hinting she’s got the hands to make an appearance in boxing.

But the issue for Zhang might be size as a strawweight competitor. Given her weight class, it might be difficult to find a suitable boxing competitor. Fighters like Yesica Bopp or Mariana Juarez might be up for the challenge as flyweight and bantamweight competitors, respectively.

Currently Making the Jump: Cris Cyborg

Let’s round off this list with one of the most recent MMA fighters to step into the ring. Cris Cyborg transitioned to Bellator back in 2021, where she is the current featherweight champion. At the height of her power, she became the only MMA fighter in history to hold championships across UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce, and Invicta. In 2022, Cyborg stepped into the boxing ring for the first time.
In September, she took down Simone da Silva, which she followed up with another win against Gabrielle Holloway in December of the same year. After taking the year off, she took down Kelsey Wickstrum in January of this year with a decisive KO. Cyborg’s recent success in the world of boxing is one of the most dominant ever seen.