Kayla Harrison’s goal remains the same at the 2023 PFL Championship after a short-notice change up.
It was revealed yesterday that Harrison’s original opponent for the Nov. 24, 2023 event, Julia Budd, was pulled from the contest and replaced by Aspen Ladd for “refusing to fulfill her contractual obligation.” This isn’t the first time Harrison vs. Budd has fallen through as the pair were scheduled to compete in July 2022 until Budd suffered an injury. Harrison instead went on to take on Martina Jindrova, submitting the kickboxer via first round arm triangle choke.
The news of the Budd fight cancelation came as a surprise to most, but not Harrison despite finding out on the internet with the rest of the world.
“There had been talks but … anybody, anytime, anywhere. I don’t care,” Harrison told MMA Mania.
“I’m not surprised,” she added. “I’ve been training for the last year, coming off a loss with the intent of going out and showing the world once again why I have the potential to be the greatest ever. Who I face makes no difference. It could be King Kong in there. I’m gonna go out there and put on the best performance of my life and be the best version of Kayla Harrison you’ve ever seen. The rest is just good luck, god bless.”
It will have been 364 days since Harrison last fought come fight night against Ladd. The former two-time PFL Lightweight queenpin’s last fight came in her attempt at becoming a three-time champion in her trilogy with Larissa Pacheco. Unfortunately for Harrison, the third time was the charm for the Brazilian powerhouse, upsetting Harrison with a unanimous decision win.
After the Ladd clash, Harrison will once again be a free agent like she was before the 2022 PFL season. While she’s been sidelined for all of 2023, the two-time Olympic gold medalist is just focusing on her first task at hand before worrying about what the future holds.
“No,” Harrison said on plans beyond 2023. “We’re two weeks out from a fight and I call it ‘two weekitis’ where like, I don’t want to say I become (laughs) … the Grinch, a little bit, where I cry over spilled milk then I’m like, ‘Why would I cry?!’ The emotions are starting to flow and you’re in that a little bit anxious, a little bit excited, stage. So, no. I’m not thinking about 2024. I’m not even thinking about 11-25. I’m thinking about November 24 and Aspen Ladd and doing my job and being as disciplined as possible up to that point.”