Kayla Harrison spent some time in the hospital before her sophomore appearance inside the Octagon.
After a destructive first-round finish against Holly Holm in April, the two-time Olympic gold medalist returned to action on Saturday night in Salt Lake City for a scrap with No. 2 ranked bantamweight contender Ketlen Vieira. Though she was listed as a -1000 favorite on a majority of sportsbooks, Harrison faced a fair amount of adversity against the Brazilian.
During a recent interview with TMZ Sports, Harrison revealed that she had faced some pre-fight struggles, including a trip to the hospital after discovering that she was urinating blood a way out from fight night.
“I’m still learning, I’m still growing,” Harrison said. “I feel like there’s a lot of room for improvement for me. It definitely wasn’t my best night in the cage. There were a lot of things that happened.
“I don’t like to make excuses. I had to go to the hospital the week before I was like peeing blood and there was some stuff going on. So, I don’t like to make excuses, but I definitely wasn’t my best inside the cage Saturday night. And I know I can be better and grow from it” (h/t MMA Mania).
Kayla Harrison may take some time off following brutal weight cut
Still, Harrison came out on top via unanimous decision, putting herself at the front of the line for a shot at new 135-pound champion Julianna Pena.
Unfortunately, it sounds like Harrison could be sidelined for a bit after enduring another rough cut down to the bantamweight limit.
“I need to take a little time off because of the weight cut and the process,” Harrison added. “Do you want the truth? I’m just not built to weigh 135 pounds. Anytime I get under the 150s, it’s not pleasant.
“The first time was fear of, ‘Can I do it?’ And this time, it was fear of like, ‘Oh, God, I have to do it.’ You know, like the anticipation.”
