Two-time Olympic gold medalist and former PFL champion Kayla Harrison successfully made weight in advance of her UFC bantamweight title fight.
Harrison, who competed in the 78-kilogram (170-pound) division in Judo and fought at 155 pounds in the PFL, was able to make the championship weight of 135 pounds on Friday morning for her fight against champion Julianna Peña.
Harrison joined the UFC’s bantamweight division last year and has fought twice, beating Holly Holm and Ketlen Vieira. However, Harrison had never made championship weight for either bout, as non-title fights allow for a one-pound weight allowance, and Harrison hit the scale at 136 pounds for both fights.
It is no secret that Harrison is competing in a weight class that places significant stress on her body. After beating Vieira at UFC 307 last October, Harrison spoke to TMZ on issues in the lead-up to that fight:
I don’t like to make excuses, but I had to go to the hospital the week before.
I was, like, peeing blood. There was some stuff going on. I don’t like to make excuses, but I definitely wasn’t my best inside the cage Saturday night. I know I can be better and grow from it.
Peña won the UFC bantamweight title from Raquel Pennington at UFC 307 last October, and is her second time holding the 135-pound title.
DraftKings is currently listing Harrison as a -750 favorite with the champion listed as the +525 underdog.
The women’s bantamweight title serves as the co-feature on Saturday’s UFC 316 card underneath the men’s bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley. Both men made weight for their fight, which is a rematch from UFC 306 last September when Dvalishvili beat O’Malley for the title at the Noche event at the Sphere.
