Written by Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
In a perfect world, Kayla Harrison wouldn’t fight at 135 pounds, but if that’s the only option she has to prove she’s the best fighter on the planet then she’ll continue to make that sacrifice.
Ahead of her upcoming title fight against Julianna Peña at UFC 316, concerns have been raised about the two-time Olympic champion making the bantamweight limit after openly discussing the difficulties she faces hitting that mark. Harrison’s longtime head coach at American Top Team, Mike Brown, concedes that Harrison puts her body through torture to get down to 135 pounds. Still, he’s not worried about her suddenly hitting a wall and not being able to make that weight.
“She’ll do whatever it takes,” Brown told MMA Fighting. “She is as committed as any athlete comes and I mean one of the biggest hurdles for her is the weight. She would rather fight at a larger weight and I think she’d be even better at a bigger weight but they don’t have it unfortunately.
“But she’s willing to do whatever it takes to be the best. If they want her to cut to 135, she’ll cut to 135. If they want her to cut to 125, she’ll cut to 125. She’ll do whatever it takes to show the world that she’s the best.”
During her rise to fame, Harrison primarily competed at 155 pounds in the PFL with only two fights taking place at lower weights—once in Invicta FC at 145 pounds and a catchweight bout against UFC veteran Aspen Ladd at 150 pounds.
Since coming to the UFC, the now 34-year-old fighter has made 136 pounds on two separate occasions for non-title fights. For June 7, she has to cut the extra pound to make 135 on the dot.
Weight cutting is never an ideal situation for any fighter but Brown knows Harrison is going to hit the mark for her title fight against Peña and she’ll do it as many times as necessary to defend the belt once she becomes champion.
“I mean it’s not easy but she can do it,” Brown said. “She can do it as many times as she wants to do it. It’s just discipline and changing your body. Is it optimal? Maybe not but she’s willing to sacrifice and make those changes and she’s that good that she can make it happen and beat whoever they put in front of her.”
A few years ago, the UFC introduced a women’s featherweight division where fighters like Cris Cyborg competed. However, after Amanda Nunes retired as the last 145-pound champion, the weight class eventually went away.
If the UFC still employed featherweights, Brown believes that’s where Harrison would fight, but that’s not an option so she’ll continue to shed those extra pounds to compete at bantamweight.
“I think optimal would be 145 or something like this but she can make any weight and she can show the world what she’s capable of and I think she’s the best female fighter on the planet,” Brown said.
“The problem is they don’t have [featherweight]. If they had [145 pounds], she wouldn’t be fighting 135. But because they don’t have it, she has to. So she’s kind of forced into it.”
Whether it’s weight-cutting, fighting through injuries or just the adversity that fighters face in the cage, Brown promises Harrison is ready to give everything she has to become UFC champion.
As her first and only head coach since she decided to transition from judo to MMA after capturing her second Olympic gold medal, Brown couldn’t be prouder to see Harrison finally get the opportunity to show she’s the best in the world. For their team, UFC 316 can’t get here soon enough.
“She’s the best in the world. It’s time to show everybody,” Brown said. “This is super exciting, I’m glad it’s finally here. We knew this day would come and it’s also a little bit of an extra pull when she started her career with us.
“She started her training at [American Top Team] from zero fights to here we are 19 or 20 fights in and ready to fight for a world title.”