Lethbridge woman captures LFA flyweight title, has sights set on UFC

By Lethbridge Herald on November 24, 2025.

Submitted Photo Shannon Clark was crowned the WomenÕs Flyweight World Champion in her recent fight.

By Nathan Reiter

Lethbridge Herald -Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 

Shannon Clark was never supposed to be a top level Mixed Martial Artist (MMA) fighter.

The 33-year-old Lethbridge woman only got into combat sports as a way to train in the offseason during her post secondary days when she was a soccer player for the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns.

Clark says her desire to compete is what led her to wade deeper in the MMA waters. 

“Once my university career was done, I just started training more and more kickboxing. One thing led to another, and then it was more on my competitive side. It kind of was like, Hey, let’s just do one fight and see how good you are in this sport and here we are 11 fights later.”

Clark began her amateur fighting career on Oct. 19, 2019 at Rumble In The Cage 62 which took place at the Servus Sports Centre in Lethbridge. After going undefeated in three fights as an amateur, Clark would become a pro fighter on Oct. 1, 2022.

In her time as a professional, Clark has posted a 7-1 record. She has won four fights on the Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) circuit. The LFA is viewed as a top developmental organization for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Throughout her career, Clark has been nicknamed “MMA Barbie”.

“One of my best friends, Mel, she always said I was too pretty to be a fighter.” Clark explained. “She was like, well, I guess you’ll be the MMA Barbie and it’s stuck. I don’t really actually even call myself that. Everyone has picked that up. When we go to fights, everyone’s wearing pink shirts and repping it and stuff. That’s kind of how it just became and now it’s a thing.”

In her most recent fight, Clark traveled to Ginásio Nilson Nelson in Brasilia, Brazil to take on Beatriz Consuli in LFA 221 for the women’s flyweight title, which Clark won by unanimous decision. The fight served as the main event on the card.

Clark says the experience was extremely memorable.

“It was between her and I for the next spot in the UFC. So LFA kind of was just more like, hey, we’re trying to figure out where we can find things like financially put you on a card and everything. Never in a million years did I expect it to be Brazil, in her country. It was the best experience of my life though, because fighting developed in Brazil. Fighting in Brazil is like hockey in Canada. It was just like holy cow, the way I got treated, how important it was. It was crazy and it was the best experience ever.”

Clark has posted a clean 4-0 record in her LFA career. Her lone blemish as a professional came on Sept. 3, 2024 when she lost to Yuneisy Duben, despite entering the fight as the favorite. That fight was part of the Contender Series, which is hosted by UFC President and CEO Dana White to scout upcoming talent that could appear in the UFC.

Clark, who works a day job as a financial advisor, says she is hopeful to get a shot at competing in the UFC.

“It never was to make it to the UFC. It never was my goal. It was just that each fight had to mean more. That’s the reason why I was still fighting because it’s a side job. I still have a career, that’s not my job to be a fighter. Being where I am and just seeing the development and the business side and everything, I just look and there’s literally no one left for me to fight outside of the UFC anymore. It just only makes sense that if I’m gonna fight again, it needs to be in the UFC.”

Clark trains seven days a week for fighting. She works with Rick Duff of the Lethbridge Boxing Club one day a week while the other six she spends training against members of the Lethbridge Police Service at the police station.

Clark says she is extremely thankful for those that she trains with.

“They just show up so that they get better for their career, their job. I just get better because they’re all bigger than me. They don’t get acknowledged truthfully as much as they should, because I would not be where I am if it wasn’t for those boys showing up for me. They put in so many hours already on top of their work and everything for me to have a career. I’m so grateful and thankful for that.”

When asked for advice for a prospective fighter, Clark says the sport is a lot more mental then people realized. 

“It’s more of a mental game against yourself than it is actually the fight itself at the end. There’s a lot of ups and downs at fight camps and each fight you learn a lot. Your mental side needs to grow and you need to understand that there’s good days and bad days and everyone is struggling out there and they’re also scared to face you. It’s not just you that’s scared and just make sure you have a good support team to help you get through it.”