Second-ranked women’s bantamweight contender Kayla Harrison (18-1) signed with the UFC to become a champion and she’ll have the opportunity at UFC 316 on June 7 in Newark, N.J.
The Olympic gold medalist in Judo and former Professional Fighters League (PFL) lightweight champion takes on reigning UFC titleholder Julianna Pena (12-5) in the UFC 316: Dvalishvili vs. O’Malley 2 co-main event at the Prudential Center.
Harrison destroyed former champion Holly Holm in her promotional debut at UFC 300 and put the 135-pound division on notice. She prevailed over then No. 2 ranked Ketlen Vieira in her second octagon performance via unanimous decision to earn the title fight.
“I think that I’m here to show what the difference between good and great is,” Harrison told UFC’s Megan Olivi. “I feel like Pena’s a veteran of the sport. She’s The Ultimate Fighter winner. She’s been around a long time. She’s gritty, but we’ve seen her lose and we’ve seen the holes in her game. I’m here to expose it one more time. I’m here to add her name to my resume.”
“She’s very unorthodox. She definitely likes to brawl,” continued Harrison. “I think that’s really her only chance is to try and make it a brawl, but my fight IQ, my coaches, my team, we have a plan. And I’m going to go out there and implement the game plan and stick to it and be smart and become a UFC champion.”
Harrison hopes to finish Pena but is preparing for a five-round war. She claims to have left ‘no stone unturned’ in her training camp for the UFC 316 title fight.
“I’m leaving no stone unturned, but I want to win by KO, TKO, or submission,” Harrison said. “Having said that, I’m preparing for 25 hard minutes. One round at a time. One minute at a time. One exchange at a time. One breath at a time.”
