Two-time Olympic gold medalist Judoka and two-time PFL winner Kayla Harrison has officially joined the UFC as a bantamweight. The announcement was made by UFC President Dana White himself. Harrison will make her debut in the UFC octagon on April 13 against Holly Holm at UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “Doug” spent her entire MMA career with the PFL but recently entered free agency at the end of her contract. The PFL made efforts to retain her, but she chose to join the UFC.
Abdelaziz expressed gratitude to PFL
Harrison’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, revealed that Harrison had successfully undergone a weight-loss trial in preparation for the UFC deal and expressed satisfaction with the results. Abdelaziz expressed his gratitude for Harrison’s remarkable PFL career and acknowledged the role that organization played in her development. He also expressed his excitement for the new beginnings with the UFC.
The 42-year-old is eyeing the Bantamweight contention
Harrison’s opponent for UFC 300, Holly Holm is preparing for a final push toward the UFC Championship. With a record of 4-1 in her last five appearances, Holm’s only defeat came against Ketlen Vieira. With two wins over new Bantamweight champion, Raquel Pennington, in 2015 and 2020, “The Preacher’s Daughter” is eyeing for a title shot again. The winner of the Kayla vs Holly bout could quickly move to the title scene. Pennington is expected to defend her title against former champion Juliana Pena. However, the UFC has not yet made an official announcement for this.
Kayla about weight cutting
Recently, in an interview, Harrison discussed the sacrifices associated with making weight for her UFC 300 debut. She said, “135 pounds will challenge me in a lot of ways, like I’m going to have to lose a piece of me to be able to fight at 135 pounds.”
The 33-year-old further stated that she carries a lot of muscle and is already lean, so she has to lose a lot of muscle. Kayla is going to change her entire lifestyle and she has already done that before to fight at 145.
