Jake Paul’s MVP MMA 1 at the Intuit Dome exposed combat sports’ stark divide. While the MMA world debated Ronda Rousey’s 17-second submission of Gina Carano, boxing was left talking about a cringe moment involving Claressa Shields and Alycia Baumgardner.

The two champions have shared a heated rivalry for quite some time, but tensions appeared to boil over at Jake Paul’s inaugural MMA event. The boxing world, meanwhile, seemed to take a firm stance, with scathing criticism aimed at Claressa Shields.

“Shields and Baumgardner get into it FOR REAL‼️,” Boxing n BBQ’s X post read, sharing the footage of the altercation.

With people crowding around, the situation quickly turned chaotic. As the video continued, Shields appeared to throw what looked like a slap.

Given that security and team members were standing in front of the camera, it was difficult to ascertain whether the slap landed on Baumgardner’s face. Security soon intervened and separated the two as tensions escalated.

Shields later tweeted her side of the story, explaining what caused her to lose her composure.

“Imma continue giving bit**es hell respectfully 😎😭 that lil a** girl said, ‘I’ll beat your a** right now’ after already disrespecting me,” she wrote. “Now you classy and playing victim. Can’t go around threatening people; take that 👋🏾 & try and GET YOUR LICK BACK!”

But the damage was done. As footage of the altercation continued circulating, several fans and followers slammed the multi-division champion for making herself look bad.

The viral moment only added fuel to a rivalry that had already been brewing publicly for months. Most recently, after Baumgardner headlined the inaugural MVP-ESPN card, Shields sharply criticized both her performance and others featured on the card.

Here’s how fans reacted to the Shields-Baumgardner altercation.

Claressa Shields under fire after viral confrontation with Alycia Baumgardner

“Claressa is helping the negative narrative against her,” one wrote. “Her fans will applaud her in her dysfunction, from sleeping with a married man to doing things like this at a public event. I won’t be surprised if she faces legal issues in the near future.”

While too personal, the comment nonetheless revealed a side of Claressa Shields that appears overly reactive to criticism and taunts.

“Claressa likes embarrassing herself,” another added. “She knew they will be separated. Did she want to fight AB on a short gown? The lady looking retarded. AB should not even respond to her.”

That sentiment only added to the criticism surrounding the incident. Acting that way only creates more problems, even if someone feels justified. If Alycia Baumgardner’s words hurt her, then Claressa Shields could call her out online and make her position clear.

A user stated bluntly, “Shields a piece of sh*t I can’t respect it.”

Meanwhile, another fan pointed to a broader issue surrounding the rivalry. “The fact that people are even entertaining is sad. First off, why is she even beefing with a 130 lb woman who is 5 divisions lower than her? It’s just stupid,” they wrote. Shields likely knows a fight with Baumgardner may never happen. So isn’t it high time she let go of the rivalry and moved on with her own career?

Still, some users pushed back on that argument and said they wanted to see the two champions fight. “Why don’t they just figure out a way to fight?” one wrote.

Given the sheer weight difference, even a catchweight fight between Claressa Shields and Alycia Baumgardner looks unlikely for now.

The better move would be for both fighters to respect each other’s accomplishments and move on.