Kayla Harrison looks to add another accolade to her illustrious resume when she meets reigning and defending bantamweight women’s champion Julianna Pena in the UFC 316 co-main event on Saturday night.
After making a name for herself in the world of combat sports, claiming two Olympic gold medals and two PFL championships, Harrison is ready to reach the pinnacle of mixed martial arts. But to get there, she’ll have to go through a tough-as-nails titleholder who’s already proven that she can defy the odds and beat the best of the best on MMA’s biggest stage.
Round 1
Harrison starts things off with a front kick that’s just out of range. Harrison with a one-two. Through the first 90 seconds, it’s been all Harrison. Pressure Pena towards the fence, Harrison shoots in and clinches up. Harrison trips her with relative ease and immediately takes side control. Harrison works herself into half guard to better control Pena’s movement. Pena gets butterfly guard and then goes into full guard. Pena looks content to try and control Harrison’s posture. Harrison postures up, and Pena tries to fire a few shots from the bottom before eating one from the challenger.
As Harrison postures up, Harrison eats a couple of upkicks while she’s still down on the canvas. That prompts the referee to pause the action and deduct a point from Pena, likely because she landed more than one kick. That also means Harrison loses the position as the fight resumes with both fighters standing. The final seconds of the opening round tick off as Harrison heads to her corner with a 10-8 round in the bag.
Round 2
Harrison gets right back on her front foot, looking to clinch up and take Pena to the mat once again. Harrison throws a body kick, and Pena counters with a one-two. Harrison punches her way in, clinching Pena against the fence. Harrison throws a couple of knees inside before getting Pena down to the mat just past the halfway point of the round. Pena settles into the guard, and Harrison drops some ground and pound. Pena appears to be looking for an arm bar, attacking Harrison’s left arm. Harrison throws an elbow with the right that prompts Pena to give up her back.
Harrison gets a hook in and appears to be digging in for a rear-naked choke, but the fence is keeping her from getting the right position. Harrison flattens out Pena and gets back into half guard with less than a minute to go. Harrison is slowly cinching in an arm triangle, but the cage is still her biggest obstacle. With only seconds to go, Harrison goes for a hail mary kimura and locks it in, forcing Pena to tap out with only seconds left in the round.
Official Result: Kayla Harrison def. Julianna Pena via submission (kimura) at 4:55 of Round 2.
Check Out Highlights From Kayla Harrison vs. Julianna Pena at UFC 316:
KAYLA HARRISON SUBMITS JULIANNA PENA TO WIN THE WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT TITLE 🏆 #UFC316 pic.twitter.com/DcpPqov6HX
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 8, 2025
KAYLA HARRISON SUBMITS JULIANNA PENA IN THE SECOND ROUND!!!!!!!
AND NEW!!! #UFC316 pic.twitter.com/G36D7wehzz
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 8, 2025
Kayla Harrison is the undisputed champion of the world!#UFC316 pic.twitter.com/WZHsuhs9OK
— UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) June 8, 2025
