It felt as though there was a lot of pressure on the shoulders of Kayla Harrison as she headed into her UFC debut on Saturday night.
The former PFL star joined the promotion earlier this year in a move that felt like a long time coming. In her first outing for the promotion, Harrison faced former UFC champion Holly Holm in a Bantamweight contest and after a dominating first round, Harrison tied up a tight rear naked choke in the second round. Although no stranger to the big nights, something felt different as Harrison made the walk on Saturday. Speaking to the media post fight, she said:
“It's different it's electric the fans the you know Bruce like I just the whole week. I mean really the whole camp you go through like moments of fear and then moments of peace and then moments of fear like, you know, one day I'd be like, I'm the best in the world. I'm going to kick her ass. And the next day I'd be like, Why the hell am I doing this?
“Like, it's just a part of the process. But tonight, you know, I really prayed for peace and I prayed that I would feel peace. And I did. And I felt really good inside the cage warming up. It went really fast and I think that was good for my peace. And I just felt in the zone and comfortable, calm, cool, collected and ready to go out there and do it.”
As intriguing as the bout was, there was a lot of talk about the weight cut Harrison would have to undergo. Having competed at 155lbs for the majority of her career, the Olympic gold medallist had to drop down to 135lbs in order face Holm, with a lot of fans questioning if she would be able to get down to the weight and if so, how depleted she would be. Discussing the cut, the 33-year-old admitted that the last pound was the most difficult but that she is happy she took the risk.
“So it was okay the last pound, you know, I'm not going to lie. The last pound was tough. I took a leap of faith here. I really took a big leap of faith. I haven't weighed 135lbs since I was 16 years old. I walked away from millions of dollars and not security. But, you know, it's a big risk to be here.
“And I believe in myself. I believe in my team. I feel like this is my call, my calling. This is my purpose. This is where I'm supposed to be right now, doing what I'm doing. And it's paying off.”
Harrison has made no secret of the timeline she has laid out for herself. By the end of 2024, the PFL champion wants to have her hands on UFC gold. When questioned if she felt her performance against Holm was enough to secure the next shot at the belt, she said:
“Yeah. I mean, the goal was to go out and make a statement and be so good that that's what that's what's next. I want to be UFC champion by the end of the year, so I hope that I did enough tonight to do that. I hope that I impress the bosses and the matchmakers. So we'll see.”
Watch her in cage interview below:
