Kayla Harrison (16-1) may not be in the main event of UFC 300, but her debut was definitely one of the most talked about moments from Saturday's historic event.
The two-time Olympic judo gold medalist has already won the PFL multiple times. Now she's trying to do the same in the UFC, but she'll be tested at a level she's never fought before.
She's not just down to 135 pounds for the first time, even though she's fought at 155 pounds for almost her entire career. However, she also started her UFC career with a showdown against her former champion in Holly Holm.
Harrison, 33, will receive nothing. But UFC color commentator and analyst Laura Sanko believes her addition to the UFC is exactly what women's MMA needs right now.
“This is the story of Kayla Harrison coming to the UFC,” Sanko said. Fighter vs. Writer When asked about her most anticipated match. She said, “I can't overstate how much I'm a fan of her, not just her fights, but her as a person. She's just an amazing person.
“The bantamweight division needs a fighter like Kayla Harrison to come here and make a change, and frankly women's MMA in the UFC right now needs a little bit of a breath of fresh air.” Hopefully, she'll be here. I think she does a good job of coming out and making some insanely difficult cuts and not having it affect the match too much and the idea that a lot of people expect her to be able to do in this match. . It's the UFC. ”
Not only is the bantamweight division the first women's division in the UFC, it was once considered a power division, thanks in large part to the star power of Ronda Rousey. Since Rousey's departure, Amanda Nunes has headlined numerous cards, but hasn't been as strong of a draw as her predecessor.
The bantamweight division has been largely stagnant lately. The belt remained vacant for several months after Nunes' retirement. Currently, her division veteran Raquel Pennington holds the belt, but there aren't that many exciting new faces waiting to take her on in her promotion fight. Things will change if Harrison can defeat a veteran and former champion like Holm.
Beyond fighting skills, Sanko believes Harrison has another ability that has been sorely missed since Rousey made headlines every time she put a microphone in front of her face.
“Last weekend I was working at my desk and before the fight, that was the point we were all thinking about. This Germaine de Randamie vs. Norma Dumont fight, the winner here. could inject real life force, especially Germaine de Randamie,” Sanko explained. “The return of the former champion, who has only lost to Amanda Nunes so far, didn't quite work out on those terms. Now, let's take a look at Kayla Harrison.
“What I like about Kayla, as we've seen in the past, is that not only can she go out and run through people, but she's also great with the microphone. Women's MMA lacks that. I'm not a big fan of the sleazy level of smut that's all the rage these days. I hate it. But I think you have to be able to capture the moment with the microphone. It's part of the business now. Oftentimes, female fighters tend to get a lot of respect, which is great, but it doesn't always build the biggest fights. Juliana Pena and Kayla They've drafted Harrison, and we're already seeing it on Twitter, and if it's in the stars for them, these two will build a fight.”
Just because Harrison's highly-hyped debut fight doesn't guarantee her anything, especially facing a perennial rival like Holm in her first UFC fight. Still, Sanko can't wait to see what Harrison can do on her martial arts biggest stage, and she may be most excited about one particular weapon that will finally be at her disposal. .
“I was looking forward to watching it because I saw her pop out at Invicta once and I called that match and she had a match at Invicta where she was given an elbow at 145. said Sanko. “She can't use her elbows in PFL.
“What I mean is, what did that poor woman at Invicta do when she finally got to the top and was able to use her elbows? [her opponent] It looked like someone had taken a hatchet to the face. I can’t wait to see Kayla Harrison hit that elbow.”
The stakes couldn't be higher for Harrison, who is often said to want to go down as the greatest fighter in the history of the sport. To reach the top of that mountain, he needs a move to the UFC.
“I think Kayla Harrison actually has a lot to lose if she comes out here and performs poorly,” Sanko said. “Where's that going? If you look bad at her 135 or she loses her weight, 145 doesn't exist. So it's certainly going to be a high-stakes gamble for her. Masu.
“Will she be able to find Holly inside that big pay-per-view sized octagon? That could be a big problem for Kayla, given Holly's incredible footwork and elusiveness. It's a very tough test for her to play against a former champion and a player with footwork from the get-go. It could really cause her some problems.”
