Imago
LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 12: Khabib Nurmagomedov speaks during a UFC 242 Press Conference at Hotel Cafe Royal on June 12, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC)
Imago
LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 12: Khabib Nurmagomedov speaks during a UFC 242 Press Conference at Hotel Cafe Royal on June 12, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC)
Kayla Harrison is one of the fastest-rising and well-respected MMA superstars in the PFL women’s lightweight division. Several well-known personalities of the MMA community have only good things to say about her. One such person is the former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Before becoming an MMA athlete, Harrison used to compete in the 78 kg weight category in Judo. She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, achieving her medals at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. Moreover, ever since making her professional MMA debut back in 2018, the ‘Doug’ has had an illustrious career in the PFL. Thus, the entire MMA community has nothing but positive words for her.
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Recently, Harrison clashed against Genah Fabian in the semifinals of the Women’s Lightweight tournament on August 19, 2021, at PFL 8. She defeated Fabian via TKO in the first round. During the build-up of this intriguing bout, ESPN MMA made a Tweet, quoting Nurmagomedov’s words for ‘Doug’.
The ‘Eagle’ said – “I think [Kayla Harrison is] like best in the world, I just think like, ‘Who can beat her?’ I don’t think someone can beat her, I don’t see nobody in PFL [beating her]… Judo like one of the hardest sports in the world. If you win twice gold medal, you have to be like beast, you know?”
The Eagle has high praise for Kayla Harrison 😤 #PFLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/8d798puHGd
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 19, 2021
Was Khabib Nurmagomedov right about Kayla Harrison?
Harrison has a spectacular undefeated professional MMA record of 11-0 (5 T/KO and 4 submissions). She is one of the most dominating MMA athletes in the lightweight division in the PFL. Moreover, she once also fought in a featherweight bout against Courtney King, where she won via a second-round TKO at Invicta FC 43.
In her PFL career, she has won the 2019 women’s ‘lightweight championship tournament. The ‘Doug’ won the semi-finals against Bobbi Jo Dalziel via first-round submission (armbar) at PFL 7. Then, in the finals, she defeated Larissa Pacheco via unanimous decision at PFL 10. Also, the ‘Doug’ is a 6th-degree black belt in Judo under Jimmy Pedro.
These are just a few of her many significant accomplishments in combat sports. Hence, Khabib Nurmagomedov was absolutely right to say what he said about Harrison.
What do you make of what Khabib Nurmagomedov had to say about Kayla Harrison? Can she be as great as the ‘Eagle’ was in his MMA career?
