Looking back, it should not have come as much of a surprise that Kayla Harrison signed with the UFC on Jan. 23. Harrison had been a winner at the highest level of anything she competed in, winning two Olympic gold medals in judo, a judo world championship and two PFL world championships in MMA.
She saw the UFC as the gold standard in MMA and her competitiveness wouldn't allow her to leave the sport without making a run at the UFC title.
Even though the UFC eliminated the featherweight division which seemed the most logical for her to slot into, Harrison focused on the UFC once she came to the end of her contract with the PFL. There has been a debate about whether her contract had one fight left with the PFL or had ended, and Harrison declined to discuss the specifics at this point.
But she said with the opportunity to shoot for the top in the world's leading MMA promotion, she couldn't pass up the opportunity.
"I am really happy with my career as a two-time Olympic gold medalist and a judo world championship and a two-time PFL champion," she told KevinIole.com on Wednesday. "I feel like there's one mountain left for me to climb and this is it. I like big risk and I like big rewards. This is a whole new realm for me, and a huge challenge. I like that. I like the feeling of being a little scared, you know? I feel like your dreams should scare the shit out of you, and this is that."
Harrison will make her UFC debut at UFC 300 on April 13 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas when she faces former champion Holly Holm. The DraftKings sports book has Harrison as a hefty -410 favorite to defeat Holm, a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame who is +320.
The question about Harrison is weight: Whether she can make it and, if she can, whether she'll be able to compete at the highest level or if she'll be badly drained. The Holm-Harrison fight is at bantamweight, so Harrison will have to weigh in at the non-title limit of 136 pounds on April 12. Many have questioned her ability to do that, since she compared at 172 pounds in the Olympics and at both 155 and 145 in the PFL.
Holm appeared on The MMA Hour last week and insisted Harrison make weight, and not just come close.
"I work hard to make my weight, so I expect the same," Holm told host Ariel Helwani.
In an interview on SiriusXM, former UFC bantamweight champion Miesha Tate said trying to drop to flyweight was very difficult and she wasn't able to perform.
"When I saw it was at 135, I was shocked, because Kayla Harrison begged for 155-pound division at PFL, and she got it and I think she’s been great there,” Tate told SiriusXM. “She’s been tremendous. I know she’s made 145 before. I think it was tough for her. I think 135 is going to really suck the life out of her, and it’s not the best move."
UFC welterweight Matt Brown was critical of the move on his podcast with Damon Martin. He pointed out the safety aspects of it.
"We always talk about this doing it the right way," Brown said. "There’s no right way to almost kill yourself. You’re not supposed to be that dehydrated. I know my lean body mass. I know how hydrated I am. I know all these details about my body. I’m not supposed to be 170 pounds. It’s simply not healthy for me. I would put money Kayla Harrison is not supposed to be 135 pounds. So no matter how perfect you do everything, those last few pounds suck horribly. You can literally do the entire thing perfect, exactly what every world class scientist tells you to do, all the research is perfect, you practiced 100 times, whatever. It will f*cking suck, period. Your body is not supposed to do what you are doing to it."
"The whole time I was [in the PFL], I walked around at 165, maybe 160 and so not only was I usually the smaller fighter with less experience, I was getting in the cage with girls who were getting in there at 180, 175 pounds. Now, that's not going to be the case. Now, I'm going to be the bigger, strong, faster and, in a lot of cases I believe, the more experienced fighter." -- Kayla Harrison, UFC bantamweight contender
Harrison has heard those critics -- and more -- and has an answer: Just watch. She badly wants to win a UFC championship, but not so badly that she physically harmed herself in the pursuit.
So before she put her name on a contract, she made the cut and then simulated a fight. Everything was tested.
She left that experienced convinced that while it may not be the most pleasant experience of her life, she'll be able to do it and be the fighter that everyone has come to expect.
"I wouldn't have made the move if I didn't think I was going to be able to do it," Harrison said. "We did a test cut. Everything was measured, from my heart rate to my blood pressure to my blood sugar. We did a test recovery. We did a test simulated fight. Everything has been dialed in and everything has been tested. I'm really confident in my team and I'm really confident in myself. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but the things in life that are worth having are usually not easy [to obtain]."
There is one other issue, though, that Harrison felt was important to clarify in regard to her size. Harrison won her gold medal at 78 kilos, which converts to 171.961 pounds. She fought mostly at 155 in the PFL and never less than 145.9. Despite her large, muscular frame, she faced a lot of women in MMA who were physically bigger than she was.
She said her walking around weight is no higher than 165 pounds.
"There's a misperception out there that I walk around at like 180 pounds or something," she asid. "I have walked around most of my MMA career at 165, 160, because I don't like cutting weight. I don't believe in cutting weight. I don't think it sends the right message to kids. That being said, I don't agree with this but sometimes you have to show up and do things you don't agree with in order to make your dreams come true. The whole time I was [in the PFL], I walked around at 165, maybe 160 and so not only was I usually the smaller fighter with less experience, I was getting in the cage with girls who were getting in there at 180, 175 pounds. Now, that's not going to be the case.
"Now, I'm going to be the bigger, strong, faster and, in a lot of cases I believe, the more experienced fighter. It's a case, I think, that I started off backwards, beginning [at the higher weight] but I was able to be successful because of my pedigree and the skill set that I brought to MMA. But now I have experience and now I am seasoned. The weight [cut] part's going to suck, but it sucks for everyone and I'm not special."