Kayla Harrison is days away from the biggest challenge of her mixed martial arts career.
On Saturday night (April 13), Harrison will step inside the Octagon for the first time as a part of the promotion’s massive UFC 300 card in Las Vegas. There, the two-time PFL lightweight champion will make her bantamweight debut against Holly Holm.
However, all anyone seems interested in talking about is her weight cut rather than her scrap with a future first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Understandably, Harrison’s move from 155 down to 135 has been the focal point for pundits. After all, it is the first time she has ever cut down to the bantamweight limit, leaving many to wonder what version of the two-time Olympic gold medalist we’ll actually get when she squares off with ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ this weekend.
Speaking with Kevin Iole, Harrison’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, attempted to squash any lingering concerns about Harrison’s move to 135, claiming that the fight is already close to her target and is “feeling good” about dropping the excess weight.
“That’s the best thing overall for her life as an individual. Losing all this extra weight, feeling good about yourself, looking great,” Abdelaziz said. “She look like amazing and healthier. Right? She’s close to weight, she’s not far from it.”
“She have a lot of muscles. And people who lose weight? Water inside the muscle. People who are muscular, it’s a lot easier to lose weight than people who have fat. She’s got a great team around her, Mike Brown, a lot of other people. Everybody, don’t worry about her weight. Everybody using her weight as excuse to not fight her or not going to fight if she miss weight or whatever.”
“At the end of the day, she’s a two-time Olympic champion, two-time PFL champion, never missed weight, make 145 during COVID in her room, you know what I’m saying?”
Ali Abdelaziz Compares Kayla Harrison to Ronda Rousey — Sort Of
Abdelaziz is also confident that Kayla Harrison will walk through Holly Holm en route to securing her first opportunity at UFC gold.
“She will make weight and listen, at the end of the day, just tune in,” he said. “She will be one of the biggest stars, she does what she have to do against Holly Holm. She’s very tough, very seasonal, she’ll go there and smash her. She’ll get a title shot, become a UFC champion. We have a Ronda Rousey on steroids, that’s what we have.”
Obviously, Abdelaziz was speaking metaphorically, but comparing one fighter to another “on steroids” is not the best look — particularly for a sport that has a long and complicated history with PED use.
Watch the full interview below:
