UFC 300
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Kayla Harrison Is All-In
Olympic Gold Medalist And UFC Debutant Has Lofty Expectations For Herself As She Faces A Former Champion At UFC 300: Pereira vs Hill
Kayla Harrison always knew she would be gracing the UFC Octagon, wearing those four-ounce gloves with those iconic three letters. She just didn’t know when.
“The goal when I started MMA was to be the best and the UFC is the Olympics of MMA,” said Harrison, who faces Holly Holm on Saturday’s UFC 300 card in Las Vegas. “The UFC is the best of the best, and it's been a long and winding road to get here. There's been some ups and there's been some downs. But yeah, I believe that this was always meant to be, and I'm excited. My time is now. It's finally here and I'm ready to shine.”
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If you haven’t heard, Ms. Harrison knows something about the Olympics, earning gold medals in judo for the United States in 2012 and 2016, and when she transitioned to mixed martial arts, making her pro debut in 2018, she just kept winning, going 16-1 with a pair of PFL tournament titles to her name.
But the UFC was always in the conversation, with what ifs swirling around, wondering if she was going to ultimately compete in the Octagon. In January, the speculation ended when UFC CEO Dana White announced that she had signed with the promotion. The reaction was immediate, and in a world where everyone seemingly finds something negative in any news, Harrison’s signing was greeted with positive feedback.
“To be honest with you, I try to stay off social media just because it can get a little bit toxic, but I am really happy that everyone seems so excited,” she said. “I think what matters most is I'm excited, my family's excited, my team is excited. This has been a long time coming and yeah, it's all good vibes. Nice, good energy, positive energy, and we're taking all of that with us to UFC 300.”
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And before you ask, don’t think that while Harrison was fighting in a different weight class in a different promotion, she wasn’t looking at what was going on in the UFC’s bantamweight division that she will compete in starting this weekend.
“I'm always doing my due diligence,” Harrison said. “I'm a professional. This is my sport, this is my dream and I take it very seriously. So, of course, I was always paying attention and watching, but I had a lot of stuff on my plate. I was focused where I was at. But I'm ready. I know exactly what I'm getting into and I have a great team around me who's prepared me properly. I train alongside these guys every day. I'm in a room full of killers every day, so I know exactly where I stand, and I like my chances.”
It's also perfect timing for the 33-year-old, who beat UFC vets like Aspen Ladd, Kaitlin Young, Cindy Dandois and Larissa Pacheco in the PFL, with her only pro loss coming to Pacheco, who she held two previous wins over. So if the American Top Team standout needed a little more, let’s say, motivation, she’s got it now.
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“It's hard to get out of bed when you're sleeping in silk pajamas, right?” said Harrison, quoting boxing legend Marvelous Marvin Hagler. “I think that there have been a lot of times where I've felt ready and willing and able, and my team played it smart, played it safe, and there's also been other things that were out of my control. But yeah, I'm all-in. I'm fighting at UFC 300 against Holly Holm, the former champion of the world at 135 pounds. All my chips are down. I couldn't be more all-in, and that gets me amped. That gets me out of bed in the morning. I don't press the snooze button. Every time I open the fridge, every time I think about quitting, every time I think, oh, maybe I can rest, no, I'm all-in. It's not on April 13th. It's every single day, and that's what I want. Your dreams should scare the s**t out of you. If you're not scared, you're not dreaming big enough. So I'm excited, I'm ready, and I couldn't be happier. The kind of thing that brings me joy is living outside the comfort zone and I have officially left my comfort zone.”
Did the comfort zone throw her a going away party?
Catching Up With Kayla Harrison | UFC 300
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Catching Up With Kayla Harrison | UFC 300
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“No, they were not happy to see me go,” she laughs. “They fought it a little bit. But fuck it, I'm in. Let's go. I don't need a security blanket.”
This is a big deal, and Kayla Harrison is made for moments like this. And it’s not just for her, but for her two kids, Kyla and Emery.
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“My life did change very drastically when I became a mother,” Harrison said. “And I always say that anybody can be a parent, but to be a good parent is the hardest job in the world. So my priorities changed and my thought process and my decision making, all of that changed when I became a mother. It's not just me anymore. It's not just about me. Before I had kids, I woke up, I trained, I'd come home, I'd eat, I'd lay out in the sun, I'd go train again. I lived a very selfish and empty life. And now I don't live like that anymore. I have two beautiful, healthy children who are the lights of my life.
“And I am happy with my career,” she continues. “I'm a two-time Olympic champion. I'm a world champion. I'm a two-time PFL champion. I'm happy with everything in my career, and I do think it's important for me to live on fire. I want my kids to understand that it's okay to take big risks. It's okay to bet on yourself. It's okay to have faith and believe. Of course, I could just be a mom and sacrifice my dreams and do that, but that's not the message I want to send to my kids or the world. I want my kids to be on fire for their lives. I want them to know that it's okay to dream big and take risks, and I'm always going to be there to catch them. So my life is difficult. I have a lot on my plate. It's a lot to juggle. There's a lot going on. But if anything, it's made me better because when I'm at the gym, I'm all-in. And when I'm at home, I'm all-in. I'm a very present parent. I'm a very intentional parent and I'm a very present fighter and I'm a very intentional fighter. It's made me better all-around, and it does bring me joy.”
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And for 15 or 25 minutes, there is peace. And something that’s all hers.
“This is for me and for me alone,” she said. “I don't do it for fame. I don't do it for glory. I don't do it for money. I do it because I love it. And that's how I want my kids to live their lives. I don't care if they go to college, I don't care if they make millions of dollars. I don't care if my daughter wants to be a librarian or if my son wants to be a welder. I don't care. As long as it sets their life on fire, as long as their heart is in it and they have joy and peace and are passionate, I want them to live a life of purpose. And being a mother and being a fighter, those are my purposes in this life.”
UFC 300: Pereira vs Hill took place live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 13, 2024. See the final Prelim and Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
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