Kayla Harrison is taking her first MMA loss on the chin.
Friday night, Harrison suffered her first career defeat, losing a unanimous decision to Larissa Pacheco in the lightweight tournament final at the 2022 PFL Championships in New York City. It was a shocking loss for the two-time Olympic gold medalist judoka, and in the aftermath, Harrison offered no excuses for what happened.
“I’m super grateful for the opportunity to do what I love everyday. I didn’t get the result that I wanted tonight. Harrison stated that Larissa was the stronger fighter at the press conference after the fight. “I don’t have an excuse, I don’t have a reason. My team and my preparation are what I believe in. We did all the right things to prepare for this fight, but it didn’t work out my way tonight. I made some tactical errors. A lot to work on. Failure is inevitable. Some days you’re the nail and some days you’re the hammer. Today I felt like the nail. This is an opportunity for me to grow as a fighter and as a person…
“I’m very fortunate that this isn’t the first time I’ve lost in life or in a sport setting,” Harrison continued. “I’ve lost many times in judo. It is a bit different with MMA. It’s the world’s biggest stage. I just lost my title, so that hurts. It’s going to hurt for a while. It’s absurd, but it is also true. I’m not curing cancer, I’m not changing the world. What I do is very selfish and I do it because I love it. And again, I’m really grateful for my team, for everyone who makes sacrifices for me, they’re away from their families during the holidays, they’re in the gym with me every day, putting in the work just as much as I am. I’m grateful for my family, for all the sacrifices they made in order for me to be here, for my kids, and I know that I have a really blessed life. So although it hurts, I know that I’ll come back stronger.”
Prior the loss, Harrison had been 15-0 (MMA) and had twice won the PFL Tournament, beating Pacheco in the final. It clearly hurt Harrison as she fought tears throughout the conference. Harrison stated that she was speaking after the press conference to show her children and others how to be an example.
“I just think that I talk a lot about legacy, and to me my legacy isn’t just what I do inside of the cage but how I carry myself outside of the cage. I think about what I want my kids to know, and I’m not ashamed of myself tonight. I’m proud. It was a fight, and I won, but it is something I am proud of. A true champion is someone who shows up even in difficult times. I believe that I am a champion. I fell flat on my face. It hurts to lose in front of everyone. It’s going to hurt for awhile. But it’s also an opportunity for growth, it’s an opportunity for me to become a better fighter, a better person, and that is part of my legacy. Not only the wins but also the loss
Bough Harrison and Pacheco had previously fought twice, this contest was their best: an 25-minute battle which saw both the scorecards at 2 rounds each heading into the last stanza. Harrison said she knew she needed to win the fifth round to seal the fight, but simply was unable to do so in the face of a dramatically improved Pacheco.
” Harrison stated that she felt the need to win round five. “She was doing more damage than me. Even on the ground, some of the shots from the bottom I was like, what the hell just hit me? [Laughs]. I felt like I really needed to find a way, and I was even thinking that before the fight. ’25 It was hard, but I had to. …
“She was just extremely physical this fight. I feel like it was a different person in there, to be honest. I don’t know. Her strength and size was greater than what I remembered. She was also much more patient. There were a couple times she flurried and blitzed, but she kept her conditioning really well. She did a great job. She is a champion.”
The loss now raises questions about what’s next for Harrison, who only has two fights left on her current PFL deal. The 32-year-old fighter said she had intended to take some time off after this fight but suggested that the loss might change that, and also noted that she wants the chance to avenge the loss at some point. Because though this isn’t the first loss she’s ever suffered, Harrison says it’s still every bit as painful as any of her previous ones.
“It’s different in the sense that there’s $1 million on the line, and I feel like I’m the face of the promotion, so I dropped the ball a little bit,” Harrison said. But losing is still losing. For me, it’s like I want to crawl out of my skin. It’s unbearable. It’s so painful.”
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2022/11/26/23478871/kayla-harrison-first-loss-i-lost-in-front-of-the-whole-world-it-hurts-its-going-to-hurt-for-awhile?rand=96749
