FOR Savannah Marshall a new sport, a new challenge - but an old rivalry.

The Hartlepudlian will step into a cage for the first time tonight as she ventures into MMA at PFL Europe's Newcastle event but the focus won't be on Mirela Vargas, her Brazilian opponent, instead it'll be a familiar face sat yards away who will undoubtedly end up taking centre stage.

"Every time I come here to Newcastle it's for something about Savannah Marshall," Claressa Shields tells the Northern Echo, just hours after touching down in the North East from the United States.

"I'm always happy to be part of her story and to be part of each other's story."

The story goes back to 2012 when the pair faced off as amateur boxers, Marshall coming out on top. Shields got revenge when she won their excellent undisputed middleweight title fight two years ago.

So, at 1-1, is a third scrap inevitable?

"I'd love that," says Marshall.

And Shields?

"We've had some great fights between us and we're going to have more," she says.

Let's be honest, Shields wouldn't have made the trip to the UK for tonight's Utilita Arena show if another meeting with Marshall down the line wasn't going to happen.

But there are matters to be resolved.

First of all, Marshall needs to get the job done tonight.

Then there's scheduling issues to sort. Shields, who has had three fights in MMA and joined PFL last year, is returning to boxing and aims to become a four-weight world champion in July when she takes on WBC heavyweight champion Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse in Detroit. She wants to box again in December, so would that mean the Marshall rematch - potentially in the cage - would take place next year?

"Possibly," she says.

"I heard something about September this year but no disrespect to Savannah but I plan my life at the beginning of the year. Changing my plans for her, it has to be lucrative and make sense and I have to be able to prepare for it.

"Right now I really want to make sure I keep my number one spot in boxing, keep breaking records and keep showing I'm the best."

There's no doubt another meeting between Marshall and Shields will be hugely lucrative but nailing down a location will inevitably prove difficult.

Dan Hardy, PFL Europe's head of fighter operations says a rerun in the UK - most likely in London - would be "spectacular", but Shields warned: "I would love to fight in the US. MMA over here (in the UK), out of the question.

"I'm down to fight her anywhere except the UK and it's not that I've got anything against the UK but she owes me a fight in America. She should fight me in America, whether it's boxing or MMA. She always says about me fighting in the leisure centre basically suggesting I don't have fans but that's a myth, it's not true.

"She didn't sell 20,000 tickets on her own, I was a huge part of that. And she can do the same thing for me in the US."

(Image: PFL Europe)

It's a strange relationship the pair have. Marshall "doesn't mind" Shields but said they could never be friends.

As for the American, she views it slightly differently.

"I never know which person I'm going to get with her," she says.

"I don't have nothing against Savannah and I really respect her as a fighter. I can be friends with Savannah, we can have a podcast together...

"We all need a dance partner. Somebody needs to be the hero and someone the villain. Sometimes we switch roles but we wouldn't exist without each other."

There's no getting away from the fact the rivalry and the 2022 fight has raised the profile of both.

"I've noticed a big difference since that fight," says Marshall.

"And the fame is nice. There was a time when I turned pro that I was working hard and I wanted people to know and appreciate what I was doing. I wanted it for a long time.

"People are just nice and they go out of the way to speak to you."

The message from people on the Hartlepool streets when she's out and about and talk turns to Shields?

"Smash her head in," laughs Marshall.

What Marshall won't do is allow Shields' presence in Newcastle tonight to distract her from the job at hand and making sure she's victorious in her cage debut.

"She's just taking it all in her stride," says Hardy.

"You wouldn't know she's in such a high pressure situation this weekend.

"She's headlining this event which brings a lot of attention to the other guys on the card, which is amazing.

"It's a familiar place she's in because she's headlining at an arena she's headlined before but unfamiliar because everything around her has changed."

Well, almost everything.

"I knew when she saw me in the cage she'd follow," says Shields.

Marshall says: "I remember when I saw her after I signed with the PFL and she said 'one question, why MMA?' I said I want the rematch with you!

"Does she need me, probably, yeah."

Would a third meeting be the final decider between the pair? Not necessarily.

"We can fight in boxing again, we can fight in MMA, we can play basketball, we can watch Shrek," laughs Shields.

Hardy is desperate to make it happen in the cage.

"It would be massive," he said.

"Maybe the biggest female fight in all of mixed martial arts. These are Olympians who already have such a rivalry and they bring a different demographic, it would be a big, big deal."

Savannah Marshall fans can watch PFL Europe Newcastle at the Utilita Arena from 5pm tonight on DAZN. Tickets are available on Ticketmaster.