Despite having some of the most lethal hands in boxing, Savannah Marshall has eyes on showing a different skillset when she makes her MMA debut.
The undisputed super-middleweight champion has made the swap to the cage in order to pursue an eventual rematch with Claressa Shields under the PFL banner. And she will make her debut against Mirela Vargas on June 8 in a massive hometown show in Newcastle.
As one of the pound-for-pound great strikers in the world, Marshall has a leg up on the competition in one aspect of her new sport. But she has had to take on a slew of new skills, including a baptism of fire in grappling.
Savannah Marshall teams up with Tom Aspinall for PFL MMA debut
As a student of renowned boxing coach Peter Fury, Marshall was put in touch with his former charge Tom Aspinall to prepare for her first MMA fight. The Brit used to box as part of Fury’s team with his nephew Tyson, before returning full-time to the cage where he has become UFC interim heavyweight champion.
Marshall believes that she is working with one of the best in the sport, telling Bloody Elbow in an exclusive chat that they met during his days juggling the two sports. “When I was with Peter in 2017, Tom was with him as well,” she explained.
“I think he had one boxing fight and at the time he was saying he was going to leave boxing behind to focus on MMA. But then over the years he’d come in to spar and we always saw Andy [Aspinall; his dad] and when I had this opportunity to switch to the dark side I messaged them.
“I asked if I could go and do a bit of training and they were like ‘yeah, of course you can,’. Their’s is a heavyweight gym so they’ve had to bring a load of smaller people for me! There’s one or two girls in there but then there’s lads my size.
“I know it’s different training with lads but I’m doing a lot of tech rounds. I’m joining in on the beginner classes and asking the most basic of questions, but it’s great because I’m with a great, patient, group of people.”
Savannah Marshall wants to show off newfound skills with submission win
After years of domination in the boxing ring which has seen her earn world titles at two different weights, Savannah Marshall has embraced being a beginner again. She has started from the ground up and been submitted multiple times a night as she learns how to fight with a mixture of martial arts.
And now, she’s keen to show off the skills she has learned should the fight get to the ground. “The plan is to get a knockout before we get to the ground,” Marshall admitted.
“But I have been working hard and to be honest if the opportunity is there I’d love to take someone down and get a submission in. I really would, It’s what I’ve been training for, I’ve boxed, punched all of my life and I want to spice it up a bit.”
Savannah Marshall details struggles with learning MMA before PFL debut
Marshall admits that she has struggled getting to grips with the grappling aspect of MMA. She feels it is even harder than she expected, adding: “It’s really hard, I massively underestimated it because I never really watched MMA.
“I would watch the big fights for Conor McGregor, Tom, Molly McCann. But especially when they got on the floor I would watch and think ‘what a load of rubbish’! But now I know what I’m watching, wow. What a sport, what an art.
“Anyone who does MMA, hats off to them because it’s just so tough. They asked me to do this about four months ago and I was thinking ‘when will you ever be ready for an MMA fight?’ Because there is so much to learn.
“There’s so much to remember and even on the floor with BJJ there’s so many different moves, you put yourself in position and you’re wide open for this and that, and even on your feet.
“So I remember thinking I had to just go for it because otherwise you’d never do it. But once I started watching the sport properly and learned it, I gained so much respect for it.”
Savannah Marshall faces Mirela Vargas at PFL Europe: Newcastle on June 8. Tickets are available on Ticketmaster
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