TMZSports.com
Kayla Harrison‘s UFC debut couldn’t have possibly gone any better … she dominated an MMA legend, and now the star fighter is telling us who she wants next!
33-year-old Harrison joined Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs weeknights on FS1) … where she discussed everything from Holly Holm‘s strategy vs. her, to her big weight cut, and her next opponent.
“I heard that [Bantamweight champion] Raquel [Pennington] is feeling a little under the weather, not able to fight. So if she can’t fight for the title, I would love to fight Juliana [Pena], whoever, I don’t care. I would love to fight for that belt,” Harrison said.
Then there’s Amanda Nunes, widely considered the greatest female MMA fighter ever … who seemed to indicate she was ready to make a return after retiring last year.
Question is, is Kayla interested? Yes, yes, she is.
“And, if Amanda wants to come back once I win the title, I’ll welcome her with open arms. And, I’m not going to make any bitching or moaning about her skipping the line, she can go ahead and skip right to the front. Come on down, honey.”
This, of course, is what Harrison has long said she’s wanted … to compete at the highest level against the very best. She’s now dispatched of one legend, likely has a title fight on the horizon, and then could have a super fight vs. Nunes, which UFC boss Dana White indicated he’d love to make during his post-event interview.
As for the UFC 300 experience, Kayla described it like this … “It was a pretty epic night and yeah, it was great!”
Leading up to the scrap, there was nonstop talk about Harrison’s weight cut, with many people questioning whether she could drop down to 135 (questions answered, BTW).
We asked her about the cut.
“Weight cutting sucks. I’m not going to lie. I’m not going to sugarcoat that for anyone,” Kayla said, adding she felt “really good” physically, while admitting that shedding the last pound was mentally draining.
As for how she recovered after cutting for fight night … Harrison said, “Physically inside of the cage, I felt really, really good, recovered, rehydrated, strong.”
It showed.
Check out the full clip … there’s much more with Kayla, including her thoughts on Holm’s strategy, and where UFC 300 ranks in the pantheon of her accomplishments (two gold medals, two PFL titles, etc.) And, there’s even a cameo from Kayla’s mom!