Kayla Harrison made it look easy.
The two-time Olympic gold medallist in judo and former PFL women’s lightweight champion put the UFC women’s bantamweight division on notice thanks to her one-sided win over former titleholder Holly Holm Saturday at UFC 300.
Harrison submitted Holm with a rear-naked choke in the second round, which followed a dominant opening five minutes.
Surprisingly, Holm, a dangerous striker, initiated a clinch early in the fight. Harrison predictably used her elite judo skills and threw Holm to the canvas immediately, however Holm pulled off a crafty reversal before Harrison worked back to her feet and eventually gained a dominant position when the action hit the canvas a second time.
She controlled Holm’s left arm, at one point pinning it behind her back as she landed heavy strikes. The significant strikes in the opening round were 46-1 in favour of Harrison. Many of them were elbows.
“It’s gonna be ground-and-pound,” Harrison said Thursday when asked what fans could expect to see in her UFC debut. “There’s gonna be a lot of blood on the canvas.”
Holm wasn’t too bloodied but her face was marked up. Harrison was not allowed to use elbows in PFL as that tournament-based organization doesn’t allow the strikes since they often result in lacerations.
“She didn’t just clinch with me, she reversed me and that just goes to show what a phenomenal mixed martial artist Holly Holm is,” Harrison told Joe Rogan following her win. “That is a legend of our sport. It was an honour for me to share the Octagon with her tonight. Holly, God bless you. God bless your family.”
Holm is 42 and hasn’t strung consecutive wins together since 2020. The former world boxing champion became a UFC and mixed martial arts superstar when she knocked out Olympic judoka Ronda Rousey in 2015.
Harrison, 33, is looking to join Holm and Rousey among the list of women’s 135-pound UFC champions. Once she took the fight to the ground in the second round, the submission eventually presented itself.
The story heading into the event was whether or not Harrison could make weight and perform well. She did both and knows what she wants next.
“I want my title next, Joe,” Harrison said in the Octagon after her victory. “That’s what I came over here for, one thing and one thing only, so I don’t care if it’s Raquel (Pennington), I don’t care if it’s Julianna (Pena), by the end of the year I will be UFC champion.”
Pennington became champion in January when she defeated Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC 297. Former champion Julianna Pena is expected to return from an injury layoff later this year and could be Pennington’s first title defence.
Former UFC two-weight women’s champion Amanda Nunes, who retired after UFC 289 last summer, took to social media after Harrison’s win perhaps hinting at a comeback.
