Kayla Harrison News

Tom Taylor - November 26, 2020

PFL star Kayla Harrison has revealed a crucial piece of advice she received from former UFC champ Ronda Rousey earlier in her career. Like Rousey, Harrison is a former Olympic judoka who later turned her attention to mixed martial arts.

Adam Martin - November 23, 2020

Women’s MMA star Kayla Harrison trashed weight cutting and said it sets a bad example for kids, but her only option was fighting at 145lbs. Harrison is a former Olympic judoka who made the move to MMA in 2018. She began her mixed martial arts career in the PFL, where she won the promotion’s season two lightweight tournament and several non-tournament bouts along the way. But with PFL not holding any events in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the promotion allowed Harrison to take a fight in Invicta FC, with the only difference being fighting at 145lbs.

Adam Martin - November 20, 2020

PFL star Kayla Harrison made her Invicta FC debut on Friday night and put on an incredible performance, defeating Courtney King via TKO. Harrison was allowed to go over from PFL to Invicta FC to take a fight while the Professional Fighters League is on hiatus in 2020. In her first fight with Invicta FC, Harrison made her professional women’s featherweight debut against King in what was a huge mismatch. The fight turned into a bloody mess as Harrison dominated King with her incredible grappling skills while bloodying her up on the mat for a second-round TKO.

Tom Taylor - November 9, 2020

2019 Professional Fighters League Women’s Lightweight Champion, Kayla Harrison is set to return to action on Friday, November 20 at Invicta 43 where she will square off with heralded Invicta featherweight, Courtney King (4-1) in the evening’s co-main event. Harrison (7-0) is a two-time Olympic gold medalist in Judo (2012 and 2016) and has been dominant since beginning her undefeated mixed martial arts career with the PFL in 2018. “I have been on a mission to show I am the best fighter,” said Harrison, a two-time Olympic Judo gold medalist. “I have been tackling challenges my entire career and this bout at 145-pounds is a new and exciting one for me. I’m looking forward to competing in this new weight class and can’t wait to get back into the PFL cage come April.”

Adam D Martin - February 5, 2020

PFL women’s lightweight champion Kayla Harrison has given some important self-defense advice to women who are being attacked. In the wake of the recent video showing boxing prospect Gervonta Davis getting physical with his ex-girlfriend, TMZ Sports caught up with Harrison — one of the best women’s MMA fighters on the planet — and asked her what women should do if they are in a situation where they are being attacked.

Tom Taylor - January 8, 2020

UFC bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo hasn’t fought since June, but he’s managed to stay in the headlines by calling out pretty much anybody with a pulse. That includes Dominick Cruz, Jose Aldo, Cody Garbrandt, Urijah Faber, Weili Zhang, Valentina Shevchenko, and most recently, PFL star Kayla Harrison. The interaction between Harrison and Cejudo, both clients of Ali Abdelaziz and Dominance MMA, began on Twitter, when Harrison compared her accomplishments to those of her fellow Olympian.

Tom Taylor - January 1, 2020

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) closed out its 2019 season on New Years Eve, meaning another group of fighters pocketed $1M prizes. In the card’s main event, Kayla Harrison won the lightweight championship by dominating Larissa Pachecho to a unanimous decision win.

Tom Taylor - December 30, 2019

Former Olympic judoka Kayla Harrison is a little over a day out from a championship clash with Larissa Pachecho. The winner of this bout, which headline the final Professional Fighters League (PFL) event of the year, will pocket a whopping $1M prize. In addition to this $1M prize, which is awarded to the champion of each weight class at the end of each PFL season, Harrison also has a lucrative, long-term contract with the league. She suspects this contract is among the most valuable in all of MMA. At the very least, Harrison believes she is probably the highest paid female fighter in the sport.

Adam Martin - August 7, 2019

PFL women’s lightweight contender Kayla Harrison is fighting with so much confidence these days. The Olympic gold medalist judoka is a perfect 5-0 in MMA and has gone public in calling for a fight against Cris Cyborg. Now, she is on record comparing herself to arguably the best fighter in the sport, Khabib Nurmagomedov. Harrison was recently interviewed by ESPN and asked who she would compare herself to. She said she believes she’s most like “The Eagle.”

Mike Heck - August 6, 2019

Kayla Harrison is not intimidated by Cris Cyborg, or the thought that the former UFC women’s featherweight champion may grace the Professional Fighters League with her presence. As a matter of fact, Harrison looks to welcome that challenge with open arms.

Mike Heck - July 12, 2019

Kayla Harrison and Jorge Masvidal came to an agreement prior to “Gamebred’s” UFC 239 knockout of Ben Askren. It was a deal that seemed to work out swimmingly for both fighters. Harrison improved to 5-0 with her first-round submission win over Morgan Frier at PFL 2019: 4. With the victory, which only took 1:25 to secure, Harrison earned her spot in the PFL playoffs and sets up an October matchup with Genah Fabian at PFL 2019: 7.

Fernando Quiles - July 1, 2019

Kayla Harrison is considered to be the most popular star in PFL and Sarah Kaufman believes there is some special treatment going on. Harrison is a judo Olympic gold medalist, who has made the transition to mixed martial arts. She is 4-0 in her young professional mixed martial arts career. Harrison will go one-on-one with Morgan Frier at PFL 4 Season 2 on July 11, while Kaufman takes on Roberta Samad.

Tom Taylor - March 8, 2019

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has officially announced the roster for its women’s lightweight division. The league announced this news on its official website early on Friday afternoon.

Tom Taylor - February 25, 2019

The UFC now has some company on ESPN, as the Professional Fighters League (PFL) has inked a two-year deal with the network. This news was first reported by Farah Hannoun on Twitter and subsequently confirmed by PFL CEO Peter Murray on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on Monday afternoon.

Tom Taylor - January 17, 2019

Last night, new UFC featherweight champ Amanda Nunes stated — apparently jokingly — that she is done with the featherweight division. Nunes followed this announcement by suggesting that Cris Cyborg, the woman she knocked out to win the UFC featherweight belt, fight lightweight prospect Kayla Harrison. Sorry Cristiane but I’m done with 145. My Goal was to be a double champ. But, now I can help you build the division. I got someone for you @Judo_Kayla is a true 145er

Tom Taylor - January 4, 2019

Rising PFL star Kayla Harrison is often compared to fellow Olympic judoka Ronda Rousey. Yet she says one of the main differences between her and Rousey is that she actually wants to fight Cris Cyborg. “That’s always been the difference between me and Ronda Rousey,” Harrison told ESPN recently. “She never wanted to fight Cyborg. I was always like, ‘I can’t wait to fight Cyborg.’

Drake Riggs - August 21, 2018

When it comes to prospects in MMA right now, there are few if any better than the highly touted PFL lightweight Kayla Harrison. Instantly upon entering the MMA world, Harrison became the best Judoka in the sport with her very accomplished background as a sixth-degree black belt and two-time Olympic gold medalist.

Chris Taylor - August 13, 2016

Two-time Olympic Judo gold medalist Kayla Harrison spoke with reporters on Friday and stated that she has received multiple offers to fight in mixed martial arts promotions. The 26-year-old, who became the first American to win two gold medals in Judo at this years Rio Olympics, says she has no interest in joining the sport of MMA at this time.