Two-time
Professional Fighters League women’s lightweight champion
Kayla
Harrison wants to face reigning Bellator
MMA women’s featherweight titleholder Cristiane
“Cyborg” Justino next. However, the decorated judoka has no
plans to sit around and waste her prime while she waits for the
highly anticipated bout to come to fruition.
Harrison (16-1) returned to action from a year of inactivity
following her first pro defeat against Larissa
Pacheco. The two-time Olympic gold medalist outpointed
Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Aspen Ladd
to a unanimous decision in a
2023 PFL Championships catchweight showcase on Friday at The
Anthem in Washington, D.C. Despite Ladd’s relentless spirit and
durability, Harrison comfortably rolled to 30-27 scores across the
board. Harrison outstruck her counterpart by a 165-27 margin.
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Afterward, she proceeded to call out Cyborg.
“I’m excited that PFL just acquired Bellator,” Harrison said. “I
heard there’s a girl in Bellator who thinks she’s a bad bitch.
Well, why don’t we find out?”
However, the
American Top Team product does not have unlimited patience.
Acknowledging Cyborg’s incomparable career and status as one of the
greatest female fighters in the history of the sport, Harrison
indicated she planned to stay active moving forward, regardless of
opponent.
“No, I’m not going to wait,” she said at the post-fight press
conference. “I’m 33. I said I got into this sport to be the best
and to climb as high as I can climb. I feel like I’m hitting my
stride now; I’m hitting my peak. I’m in a great place, but I’m not
going to do this forever. I think I have been doing two a day since
I was 12 years old, so my body is not going to be in great shape at
40, but I do love it. I do get immense joy out of it, but I’m not
going to wait for anybody, you know? I just waited a year, and it
almost drove me insane, so I’m not waiting for anybody.”