UFC 300 rolls into T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, this weekend (Sat., April 13, 2024) with some of the sport’s biggest names in tow (full fight card here), including one most never expected to see inside the Octagon. On this edition of “New Blood, the series where I desperately wish Professional Fighters League (PFL) did a better job of tagging and sorting its uploaded content on ESPN+, we checkout a two-time Olympic gold medalist with two, $1 million tournament victories under her belt.
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Kayla Harrison
Weight Class: Featherweight/Bantamweight
Age: 33
Record: 16-1 (6 KO, 6 SUB)
Notable Victories: Aspen Ladd, Marina Mokknatkina, Cindy Dandois, Larissa Pacheco
After claiming gold in virtually every judo competition of note, including the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, Harrison transitioned to mixed martial arts (MMA) in 2018, rattling off 15 consecutive victories. She suffered her first defeat to long-time rival, Larissa Pacheco, in 2022 (watch highlights), but bounced back by dominating Aspen Ladd one year later.
Harrison’s grappling is, to put it simply, as advertised. In addition to a variety of throws and trips from the clinch, she’s shown off an increasingly effective arsenal of wrestling-style takedowns, with special notice going to her single-leg. Once on top, she’s both a nasty ground-and-pounder and effective guard passer.
Though she’s not impossible to get out from underneath, Harrison is impressively dogged, maintaining the body lock on the way up and landing solid knees while looking for opportunities to either re-shoot or kick out her opponent’s base. That chain-wrestling, combined with a very sturdy gas tank, lets her put her opponents through a veritable blender of mat returns without ever giving them the chance to build any momentum.
She’s not helpless off of her back, either. She’s quick to find an underhook and transition to a single-leg takedown, and even if opponents manage to take her back, she’s very adept at turning into top guard before the rear-naked choke becomes a threat.
What sank her in the third Pacheco fight was a lack of setups. Harrison offered little on the feet besides naked low kicks, naked body kicks, and the occasional straight left. This left her to shoot from too far out and give Pacheco plenty of time to sprawl, reverse, or rack up damage as Harrison tried to transition. Harrison showed admirable grit in that bout, fighting to the bitter end despite 25 minutes of grueling action, but Pacheco deserved the decision.
That defeat may have been the kick in the pants she needed, because she looked miles better against Ladd. Her left hand and check right hook were sharper, she started using a jab, and she actually used the threat of her takedowns to set up her strikes. While she did still throw a naked body kick and get countered for it, she also showed off much-improved feints and even utilized a kick and punch in the same combo, so the prognosis is quite good.
Even if her competition wasn’t the best, Harrison is absolutely legitimate. Her grappling is top-notch, her striking is becoming a real threat, she’s got heart for days, and she’s still improving considerably after more than half a decade in the game. So long as she can juice herself down to 135 without compromising her performance, she’ll get a UFC title as soon as the opportunity arises.
The Holly Holm of 2020 would have given Harrison tons of issues with her lateral movement, but “The Preacher’s Daughter” no longer has the legs to pull that off. She’s become hugely reliant on the clinch of late, which puts her right in Harrison’s wheelhouse and should spell her doom by the end of the second round.
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 300 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET), before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 300: “Pereira vs. Hill” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.