Kayla Harrison is coming to UFC.
The former PFL champion and Olympic gold medalist will make her bantamweight debut against former 135-pound titleholder Holly Holm as part of the upcoming UFC 300 pay-per-view (PPV) event, scheduled for Sat., April 13, 2024 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Newly-crowned division champion, Raquel Pennington, doesn’t like her chances.
“I feel like, as far as coming into the UFC, a lot of athletes haven’t truly been challenged, and I feel like she hasn’t truly been challenged in the PFL,” Pennington told Sirius XM’s “Unlocking the Cage” (transcribed by Farah Hannoun). “To now come in and have this platform, that’s going to give her a run for her money for sure. She has a huge hype following her, but I think she’s going to be exposed a little bit. First and foremost, the hardest part of this is making the weight.”
Harrison, currently the odds-on betting favorite (by a lot), competed primarily at lightweight but has made the featherweight mark previously in her career. The 33 year-old Ohioan is 16-1 with 12 finishes and was last seen capturing a judges’ decision in her three-round victory over former UFC bantamweight Aspen Ladd last fall.
“I feel like Holly is at a point in her career where she’s older, and I don’t mean that in any bad way, but things get tough when you get older as an athlete,” Pennington continued. “It takes a different toll on your body and stuff, and she’s been around for a very long time. I feel like her last few fights, she hasn’t had that ‘it’ anymore. She’s been battling different injuries and stuff, and it just feels like she’s on her way out. But I feel like if Holly actually brings back the Holly that first came into the UFC and strikes with Kayla, it’s not going to go Kayla’s direction at all.”
For the rest of the UFC 300 fight card and PPV lineup click here.