After entertaining the fight fans with her performance at the Professional Fighting League for about 6 years, Kayla Harrison stepped into the Octagon at UFC 300. Winning the bout with great finesse, the fighter won over the hearts of the MMA fans. However, the world has begun to wonder about some intricacies of the American fighter, and many are curious to know the story behind Harrison’s nickname.

After all, this is the identity that Kayla carries on to the Octagon. In the realm of American judo, one stando͏ut hails from ͏Middleto͏wn, Ohio – Kayla Harrison. Her journey from being a professional judo p͏ractitioner to Olympic gold m͏edalist to the PFL is ͏w͏as already heavyw͏eight.͏ So, including the UFC on her res͏um͏e is just a wow facto͏r for the Ohio native. Harrison is often referred to as ‘Doug’ by the people close to her, but what does it indicate?

The origin behind Kayla Harrison’s moniker

The term ‘Doug’ ͏was given to Harrison by Ronda Rousey when they were training together during their judo days. The reason and context why Rousey called Ha͏rri͏son ‘Doug’ are still unknown, but according to some sources, ͏it may be because of Rousey’s superior skills in judo. Despite its conventional nature, the moniker became a part of Harrison’s journey showing her resilience. With Rousey’s gift attached to her name, Harrison made her UFC debut back in UFC 300 and faced the formidable Holly Holm.

Despite being new to the MMA promotion, ‘Doug’ submitted one of the strongest bantamweight contenders in just 2 rounds, adding one more victory to her impressive professional record. Winning 17 bouts with just a single defeat as a professional mixed martial artist is something that only a selected few can accomplish. This has indeed put Harrison in the spotlight, with the fighting community wondering about her personal life.

More about Kayla Harrison’s early life

Born and brought up in Midwest-Middletown, Harrison got attracted to the world of combat sports pretty early in her life. However, the story behind it is nothing like an average inspirational story; it was all because of an advertisement and her mother. Kayla Harrison said, “One day, as a kid, I saw a karate commercial on television and soon after started running around the house and energetically breaking stuff, so my mom put me in judo, a sport she practiced in college as a form of self-defense.”

Starting to learn martial arts didn’t guarantee her early success, she didn’t win a single bout in the first three years. But Harrison’r dedication and hard work ensured that she became the third American to win the Junior World Championship, in 2008. 4 years later, at the London Olympics, she became the first American to win a gold at the event. Rio de Janeiro witnessed her strength as a judoka as Kayla got her second Olympic gold in 2016.

Even after closing the doors of Judo, Harrison’s fighting career continued to bloom. She debuted in the PFL in 2018 and within a year, became the women’s lightweight champion at the organization. And now, she’s all out to claim the UFC women’s bantamweight championship belt. But first, Kayla Harrison has to defeat Ketlen Vieira at UFC UFC 307.

Who do you think would emerge victorious in their bout; will Harrison deploy her Olympic-level Judoka skills in the fight? Let us know in the comments down below.