Kayla Harrison was always ready to make history. She is the first U.S. athlete in judo to win an Olympic gold medal, and she did it twice. The Ohio native had to experience a huge trauma in her childhood. However, she did not stop fighting to get the best life for herself and her family.

She started training in judo when she was six and was inspired by her mother, who was a black belt. She quickly became excellent at her game, winning two national championships by the age of 15 while training under coach Daniel Doyle. However, after she reported Doyle’s crimes, she moved to Boston to train under Jimmy Pedro. After that, there was no looking back. 

She is a decorated athlete and has an impressive 18-1-0 in MMA. The UFC women’s bantamweight star is #2 in her division and #7 in pound-for-pound. Clearly, her prowess is unmatched. So she would need a platform that gives her the exposure she needs. Harrison found it with the UFC as she claimed that it was the Olympics of MMA.

In a recent conversation with ESPN MMA, she said, “I’ve kind of been around the rodeo a couple of times, and I do have nothing but good things to say about the UFC. From the people who work the transportation up to the big boss himself.”

Harrison further spoke about the people who work under the promotion. She said, “Everyone here takes extreme pride in what they do, they are excited, they are friendly, they are welcoming, like everyone here. They just like take pride in their work, and I respect that. And this is the Olympics of MMA, you know, this is the organisation and I am also grateful and honoured to be a part of it.”

This is not the first time that she praised UFC by comparing the billion-dollar organization to the Olympics. “The goal when I started MMA was to be the best, and the UFC is the Olympics of MMA,” said Harrison to UFC.com before facing Holly Holm at UFC 300. She earned gold medals in judo for the United States in 2012 and 2016, and when Harrison shifted to mixed martial arts, making her pro debut in 2018, she kept winning, going 16-1 while winning two PFL tournament titles to her name.

However, UFC was always her top goal, and she achieved it! Nevertheless, her relationship with PFL seems to be a little strained.

What happened between PFL and Kayla Harrison?

Her departure from PFL was not a pleasant one, and that created a pretty big rift between the promotion and her before she shifted to UFC. Harrison’s former boss insinuated the same and decided to accuse her of running from fights in PFL.

Before her UFC debut, ‘Doug’ was a huge star in PFL and was supposed to take on former UFC star Cris Cyborg. But she decided to have a change of plans and made a move to UFC. The Olympian wanted to test her limits and go up to the 135 lbs division, and PFL did not have any accolades in the same division.

The lightweight star was not immune to the sharp words from the PFL CEO. Donn Davis accused her of running away from fights and said,  “We brought Kayla Harrison into MMA from the Olympics, developed her into an 18-1 star, two-time champion, and one of the greatest women, top five in the sport today. I (have) nothing but pride for that and nothing but respect for Kayla as a competitor. To build the company I want every great fighter here.”  However, UFC listened to her and gave her the right opportunities.

Harrison is now coming back to fight Julianna Pena at UFC 316. Is UFC the Olympics of MMA? Do you agree with her?