- Kayla Harrison talked about being sexually abused by her Judo coach
- The ex=PFL champ reflected on her relationship with Ronda Rousey
Kayla Harrison discussed her past with Ronda Rousey and Judo coach who sexually abused her.
Kayla was a victim of sexual abuse
Speaking to Overdogs podcast, Harrison looked back at the time when her first Judo coach sexually abused her when she was still a teenager. Kayla said it was only during the Olympics that she began disclosing it publicly.
“I was sexually abused by my first judo coach, and when I was 16. I finally told my mom what had been happening. She pressed charges, he spent 10 years in a federal prison, so that’s all good. But it took me years to really recover from that, and when I started getting some press for the Olympics, I started sharing my story,” Harrison said.
A history with Ronda
Harrison was also quizzed to describe her relationship with Rousey when she was also pursuing an MMA career. According to the former PFL champion, she and “Rowdy” used to be “frienemies” but she would always be grateful for the things Rousey had done for her back then.
“Ronda was, I called us, it’s like frienemies you know, like we were roommates when I first moved to Boston, she was young, she was the only other girl who was training in Boston,” Harrison recalled. “I went as a training partner for her to the ’08 Beijing Olympics and we pushed each other super hard… Definitely brought up the best in me, [that’s what] I feel like. But this is also a girl who, we’re in Belgium and I have maybe $5 in my bank account and she bought groceries and like let me eat, so I’m not ever gonna say anything bad about Ronda.”
As it stands, Harrison has somewhat replaced Rousey as she is now arguably the biggest name in the UFC women’s division. The 34-year-old has won her first two bouts in the promotion and is now a favorite to get a title shot for her next fight.
Watch Harrison’s full interview below:
Amanda Nunes' Return, Khamzat Chimaev's GOAT Potential & Untold Ronda Rousey Stories
GUEST: Kayla Harrison
Chapters:
00:00 – Coming up
00:43 – Dirty Boxing Upcoming Event
01:40 – Kayla Harrison Joins!
02:38 – UFC 308 Recap
08:34 – Kayla’s Last Fight
12:04 – New UFC… pic.twitter.com/9vuzPmiOvk— OverDogs Podcast (@OverDogsPodcast) November 5, 2024
