It’s been an exciting week for Kayla Harrison but she believes that this is just the beginning of something bigger.
This past week, the two-time Olympic gold medalist turned 32, scored a first-round finish at PFL 6 to advance to their playoffs, and was nominated for Best MMA fighter at the 2022 ESPYs.
Harrison was the first non-UFC fight to be considered for this award. The two-time PFL champion said that it is just the beginning.
“Sometimes I talk a little bit of smack and I say it’s the Kayla show, but that’s how you have to believe,” she said at the PFL 6 post-fight press conference. “That’s how you have to feel when you’re an MMA fighter stepping in a cage with another human being. You have to have that kind of confidence in order to go out there and compete at your very best.
“So yeah, we’re in a new era, and I want to be the spearhead for it, I want to be the leader, but I understand it takes more than one person to make a movement happen and to grow the sport to reach new heights. So I’m excited to be a part of it and humbled.”
Though the “Best MMA Fighter” award has only been around since 2019, to be the first non-UFC fighter to be nominated shows that Harrison, and others, won’t necessarily be held back from broader recognition just because they aren’t in the UFC. Harrison is free to expand the PFL brand, having just signed a multiyear contract with them.
Of course, the biggest name that could help her do that is Cris Cyborg. For some time, Harrison was interested in a bout with Cyborg. With Cyborg’s free agency looming, the superfight is still a possibility, but Cyborg seems less keen on following Harrison to the PFL for the moment, stating she wants to try her hand at boxing.
It’s frustrating for Harrison, who’s repeatedly called Cyborg out. But the two-time champ said for the moment, she just has to focus on herself and the opponents she wants will come.
“I go back and forth on it to be honest,” Harrison said. There are moments when I feel like “Say what you can to get her fighting you,” and then there are moments when I realise that I must chase my best self. Kaitlin Young is not my opponent, and I am not up against other girls. It’s okay. I’m there. I want to do better as a fighter and as a mom.
” I can’t make X or Y girls do what they want. I will fight any person. I want to fight the best while they’re the best, I’ve made that no secret. But at the end of the day, if it’s meant to be, it will.”
Harrison will be competing in the lightweight PFL semifinals against Martina Jindrova and Charles Oliveira. She seems excited to be able to take home another trophy if she wins that fight.
” “It would have been amazing,” Harrison stated. It is very humble for me to have been nominated at this stage in my career. I consider myself to be a novice. It’s still a beginning. I believe that I am just starting, but I know there is more to come. It’s humbling to be nominated right now, which is an immense honor and I am truly grateful .”
