Kayla Harrison lived up to the hype earlier tonight (Sat., April 13, 2024) at UFC 300 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, when the two-time Olympic gold medalist demolished former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm with a second-round submission (rear-naked choke).
Harrison, who brought a 16-1 record over from Professional Fighters League (PFL), was a massive favorite to take care of business in her UFC debut. Holm is a former champion who has proven to be a formidable and durable fighter inside of the cage, but she’s 42 years of age and has been on the backend of her career for the last few years. This was Harrison’s fight to lose.
Fortunately for the UFC newcomer, her gameplan worked like a charm. Harrison was able to close the distance and stay out of range of Holm’s long strikes. This allowed Harrison to implement her grappling and score a powerful takedown. Holm reversed it for a moment, but Harrison was there again to land punishing elbows and punches from top control.
Harrison continued her dominant ways into the second round with another takedown of Holm. This time around, Harrison traded in punches for a suffocating rear-naked choke. Holm only lasted a few seconds before tapping. Harrison cashed in the submission finish and called for a UFC title shot after her win.
Check out the final moments below:
KAYLA HARRISON HUST STEAMROLLED THROUGH HOLLY HOLM IN HER UFC DEBUT #UFC300 pic.twitter.com/Vj0UQKrbmB
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) April 14, 2024
Eyes on gold @KaylaH knows exactly what she wants next #UFC300 pic.twitter.com/9gERAV24VC
— UFC (@ufc) April 14, 2024
For complete UFC 300 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.