There’s a first time for everything, including Kayla Harrison.
In her next fight, the two-time Olympian and ex-PFL Champion is fighting not only under a new banner, but at a new weight class as well. Harrison, 33, signed to the UFC earlier this year and is slated to meet former champ Holly Holm upon entry in the bantamweight division.
135lbs is uncharted territory for Harrison in her pro MMA career thus far. The American Top Team product has competed at 155lbs throughout multiple seasons in the PFL with a lone appearance at featherweight (145lbs), a one-off fight in Invicta back in 2020.
Sonnen Reacts: “That Can’t Be Right… Gotta Be A Misprint”
The news of Harrison going down another weight class shocked many, including former UFC star Chael Sonnen, who couldn’t believe what his eyes were seeing.
“I remember where I was when this got announced. It’s just one of those fights that grabs you,” Sonnen said of Harrison vs. Holm on his YouTube channel. “What? My very first thought is at 135lbs? That can’t be right. I was reading this on a doc. I said, that’s gotta be a misprint.”
Sonnen: Harrison ‘Hasn’t Weighed 145lbs Since She Was 17 Years Old’
At first glance, Sonnen thought Harrison’s debut would have been at featherweight, but the UFC looks to have pulled the plug on their most shallow division after double-champ Amanda Nunes retired in 2023.
“Kayla Harrison’s weighed 145 in her fight career. She went over to Invicta to do it, but before she did it, she did it in an interview like 3 years ago, and I still remember it because she said she hasn’t weighed 145lbs since she was 17 years old. A junior in high school. That’s a quote.
“So when I hear 135… ‘Oh, that can’t be right.’ I know that Holly is willing to go up [to featherweight], and it’s a special night, and it’s 300, and they’re not they’re not reviving the 145 pound division, but this fight is gonna be it, 145… had it all wrong.”
The Fight Before The Fight
One of most asked questions in regards to Harrison’s debut is whether or not the judoka can hit the bantamweight limit of 136lbs, come Friday. From the looks of it, Chael Sonnen doesn’t think it’s gonna be easy.
“Kayla said that she’s going to do a test cut. Now Kayla looks like she’s carved out of stone as is. Like, there is nothing but muscle, very lean— that’s at 155lbs. As a matter of fact, that’s the only time I’ve ever seen her. I never saw her in Invicta fight where she weighed 145. So for me, I’ve only seen her at 155. I only saw her judo matches, which were 170. I’m gonna see her at 135 for the first time. I am very much looking forward to that.
“Is it too much? Can they recover?” Sonnen asked, regarding if the weight cut will impact Harrison’s performance on fight night. “Now I gotta just get in front of that right now because you will hear commentators and you will hear that all week of, ‘Oh, I don’t know if she can recover’, and ‘Her legs are gonna be weak,’ please stop. None of that is true. When you weigh in on a Friday and you fight on a Saturday, it just isn’t true.”
Will Kayla Harrison make weight for her UFC debut? We’ll keep you updated with weigh-in results on Friday as we cover UFC 300 live from Las Vegas this week.
