Welcome to the UFC Octagon, Kayla Harrison.
The premier organisation has finally picked up the former PFL Lightweight Champion just in time for a historic event. Dana White announced on Tuesday that Harrison will be making her promotional debut at UFC 300 against none other than former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm.
Breaking News: UFC has signed Kayla Harrison!#UFC300 Holly Holm vs Kayla Harrison pic.twitter.com/jQeLItwQmO
— danawhite (@danawhite) January 24, 2024
The bantamweight matchup was made just days after the division crowned a new champion in Raquel Pennington at UFC 297 and the retired Amanda Nunes spoke in regards to a potential return.
Harrison will head into unfamiliar territory at 135lbs as the two-time champ has only fought at 145lbs and up throughout her pro career. For the #5 ranked Holm, it’s just another day at the office at bantamweight.
The PFL star is coming off a win over ex-UFC fighter Aspen Ladd in November. A unanimous decision would get Harrison back in the win column after she suffered her first pro loss to Larissa Pacheco in 2022. The story isn’t over for Harrison (16-1) as the Olympian seeks another world championship at 33 years old. But, first she must get past Holm.
Holm’s surprise booking against Harrison marks her 16th fight in the UFC. The boxing hall-of-famer might be a shoe-in for the UFC hall of fame also as Holm was the one to end Ronda Rousey‘s title reign in 2016. While Holm didn’t hold down the title for long, she has fought for the title five times and has shut down several top contenders.
Of course, Holm has experience fighting an Olympic Gold medalist in judo before, the first being Rousey. But, we’ll see how she does against Kayla Harrison, which should be a totally different fight.
We dropped a reaction video on our YouTube channel, which can be seen here:
