Kayla Harrison is now a two-time Olympic gold medallist and a UFC champion.
Harrison finished Julianna Pena to become the new women’s bantamweight champion at UFC 316 this past Saturday, but concerns over her continued weight cuts for the division are concerning.
The new champion appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show on Monday and reflected on the strenuous weight cut to make 135 pounds, which led to alarming photos of Harrison on the scale on Friday morning:
It’s not good, I don’t think anyone can really understand that process unless they have gone through it. I am not mentally strong enough to do that, God did that. I did want to quit. I didn’t want to be there anymore, and I was like, What am I doing? But God had other plans.
Harrison competed at 170 pounds in Judo throughout his career and was fighting at 155 pounds when she fought for the PFL before joining the UFC. In her first two bantamweight fights in the promotion, she weighed 136 pounds, but for the championship fight with Pena, it was the first time she had to get to 135.
Harrison detailed her fifteen-week preparation for the weight cut by only eating meals her chef provides her. Fourteen weeks before the fight, she walks six miles, bikes for two hours, or swims for ninety minutes daily on top of grappling, drills, and regular training. Plus, she begins sauna work three weeks out.
After her win against Pena, former champion Amanda Nunes entered the cage for a face-off with her former teammate after Nunes announced she was coming out of retirement.
