Claressa Shields Banned by MVP After Altercation With Alycia Baumgardner

Claressa Shields has been banned from all future events promoted by Most Valuable Promotions following a physical altercation with fellow boxer Alycia Baumgardner at a fight card in Inglewood, California, on Saturday night. The incident occurred in a VIP area at the Intuit Dome during MVP’s inaugural MMA event, which was headlined by Ronda Rousey’s return against Gina Carano and streamed on Netflix.

The promotion announced the ban in a formal statement, citing a zero-tolerance policy for aggressive behavior. Officials stated that physical altercations outside of competition are unacceptable and that Shields’s actions reflected poorly on the promotion and women’s sports. Security personnel intervened to separate the two athletes before the situation escalated further.

Video footage of the encounter, which circulated widely on social media, shows the two champions in a heated verbal exchange before Shields moves her hand toward Baumgardner. The exact nature of the contact is unclear from the video, with some observers describing it as a slap to the face and others as a hand being knocked away.

In a statement, Baumgardner said she was physically assaulted without provocation and...