Ryan Loco
Kayla Harrison is inviting Cris Cyborg to PFL with open arms and closed fists.
Female fighters from every major promotion are chomping at the bit to fight Cris Cyborg and Kayla Harrison is no exception.
The undefeated PFL star (5-0) is confident she would beat Cyborg (21-2-0-1) should the latter sign with PFL.
“I think that she would fit right in at the PFL. First of all it’s 155 pounds so she wouldn’t be dying to make the weight like she does at 145 and I think that there’s not really anybody else out there that’s gonna give her,” Harrison told TMZ Sports (h/t MMA Fighting).
“I’m gonna beat Cris Cyborg if she comes to the PFL and I don’t think any other organization can offer her that. Plus it’s a win, you fight, you move on type of atmosphere so she’s not gonna have to worry about the promoters liking her or not liking her which seems to be a big problem for her. If you win, you get to continue.”
“I wouldn’t say it’s incredible striking,” Harrison said of Cyborg’s stand-up skills. “I’d say she’s big, she’s strong, she’s powerful but she doesn’t move her head, she comes straight forward, she’s definitely a brawler. My goal is to become the best MMA fighter in the world. It’s to become technical, it’s to become well-rounded so I’m working on all those details. I may not ever be the world’s best striker but I’m gonna be the world’s best MMA fighter and that means being able to put them all together in a very artistic fashion.”
Harrison would be at a major experience disadvantage, but she points to her Olympic success as evidence that she is game.
“I shine brightest under the lights. The more pressure the better I do. There’s a reason I have two Olympic gold medals and it’s not a coincidence,” she boasted. “I love the spotlight, I love to shine, I love the pressure. I feel like we grow at the edges of our experience and when we’re uncomfortable, is when we’re growing and that’s what I want to do. I want to be the best possible version of Kayla I can be.”
“Hi Cris, listen, I heard you lost your job but if you’re interested, the PFL has a very special place for you,” she teased. “It’s second.”
UFC President Dana White recently announced the company would not re-sign Cyborg and have waived her 90-day exclusive negotiation period. Bellator women’s featherweight champion Julia Budd is another woman who has expressed interest in fighting Cyborg.