Kayla Harrison is feeling great a week out from her highly anticipated Octagon debut — but she knows the worst is yet to come.
On Friday, April 13, Harrison will compete at UFC 300, taking on former women’s bantamweight world champion Holly Holm in what will be the toughest test of Harrison’s career. Not just because of the woman she’s facing, but because of the weight cut she faces ahead of fight night.
Harrison has previously competed as a lightweight under the PFL banner. With no such division existing in the UFC and the featherweight division all, but dead at this point, Harrison is making the drop from 155 down to 135 for her first go on MMA’s biggest stage.
Speaking with MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn, Harrison was all smiles regarding her latest training camp, acknowledging that she is “ahead of schedule” when it comes to cutting weight. However, Harrison knows that this is only the beginning and things are going to get a lot harder for her once fight week rolls around
“I’m in the best shape of my life. I feel really good,” Harrison said. “I have energy, I’m fueled and I did not expect that, to be honest. I was anticipating to feel like sh*t and I’m sure that part is coming,” Harrison said. “I know we’re not there yet. I have surrendered to that. I know that there is gonna be a nasty piece of this that I’ve just kind of surrendered to and accepted, but I feel really good.”
Kayla Harrison Credits Weight Cut with Improving Her ‘Mental Fortitude’
Harrison also spoke about the mental benefits of cutting weight. Spending a lot of time alone in the sauna and doing low-impact cardio, the two-time PFL champion believes being alone with her thoughts has brought her inner peace and closer to God.
“One thing about cutting weight that I didn’t really realize is that I spend a lot of time alone,” Harrison said. “I have to do heat acclimation to get used to the sauna so I spend a lot of time in the sauna alone. Doing a lot of slow steady-state cardio so I spend a lot of time walking, swimming, or biking and it’s just me and my thoughts and that’s really given me a new… I’ve almost leveled up in my mental fortitude and in my spiritual life. In my focus, my desire. It’s been a really nice perk of cutting weight.
“I just feel like I’m walking hand-in-hand with God right now and it’s been really good. I’m happy and excited. We’re good. I’m ready.”
Watch the full interview below:
