Harrison is already tired of hearing the endless steroid allegations coming from fans and fellow fighters coming into her second UFC fight in Salt Lake City.
If Kayla Harrison has one message she wants to underscore as her upcoming fight with Ketlen Vieira approaches at UFC 307 on October 5th, it’s that she’s not on steroids.
It’s too bad that Harrison has to focus on this, but that’s the heavy burden the muscular two-time Olympic gold medalist must bear for being an absolute beast of a woman. She competed at 170 pounds through her judo career, and then at 155 in MMA. Somehow she managed to cut down to 135 pounds for her UFC debut at UFC 300 — a two round smash of Holly Holm.
Even her manager called her ‘Ronda Rousey on steroids.’ So Kaylya took the time with ESPN to reiterate she is ‘Kayla Harrison, not on steroids.’
“I’m all natural and always have been,” she said. “I have worked my ass off since I was 12 years old and I’m proud. I think people forget that the first time I was tested by the USADA I was 12 years old. They came to my middle school. I was on the National [judo] roster and have been tested since then.”
“I have never taken steroids and I never will. I don’t believe in it, especially in our sport it is borderline dangerous when you are inflicting damage on each other. I would never taint my legacy in that way.”
Also fighting at UFC 307: Julianna Pena, who fights women’s bantamweight champion Raquel Pennington. As far as Harrison is concerned, that’s just a placeholder for her eventual title reign.
“I think everyone knows that it is only a matter of time,” she said. Which is why she believes Pena is accusing her of being on gear.
“When the truth don’t hurt, they start telling lies,” Harrison said. “I realize that, like, damn, you don’t work hard enough to look the way I look, and you don’t believe in yourself enough to have this kind of hard work and dedication. So, I consider it a compliment.”
Harrison vs. Vieira goes down from Salt Lake City, Utah. Also on the card: a light heavyweight title fight between Alex Pereira and Khalil Rountree.