Kayla Harrison is headed to the Octagon.
The former PFL champion will debut against former featherweight titleholder Holly Holm as part of the blockbuster UFC 300 card, scheduled for Sat., April 13, 2024 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The announcement brings an end to any hopes of Harrison fighting Cris Cyborg, a fight that seemed one step closer to reality after PFL acquired Bellator MMA late last year.
That said, PFL didn’t seem to be in any big hurry to book Harrison vs. Cyborg even before the former Olympic gold medalist made her way to UFC.
“Let me know Holly Holm if you need any training partners for Kayla Gump,” Cyborg wrote on Twitter. “I would love to visit New Mexico and Jackson-Wink MMA. Dana, I would love to add Cyborg-Nunes 2 onto the UFC 300 card too.”
Cyborg, 38, defeated Holm in the UFC 219 headliner back in late 2017 then got stopped by Nunes roughly one year later. Falling to “Lioness” marked just the second loss across a span of 30 fights for the Brazilian and her first since May 2005.
Nunes recently teased a potential return to UFC.
“I have told my team I only plan on having one more MMA fight before retirement and that if PFL MMA is unable to promote the Kayla Harrison fight that I would like them to book [Larissa Pacheco] for that match,” Cyborg said. “And I believe everyone wants to see me KO Kayla.”
Cyborg is expected to continue her undefeated boxing career after retiring from MMA.