Kayla Harrison Praises Cris Cyborg but Promises to “Beat the Sh*t Out of Her”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Kayla Harrison certainly rebounded after the initial loss in her pro MMA career and once again set her sights on Cris Cyborg.

Almost a year ago, two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time PFL champion Harrison (16-1) fell short in a trilogy bout against Larissa Pacheco for the 2022 PFL women’s lightweight championship. She returned to the cage for the first time since then at 2023 PFL Championship to face Aspen Ladd (11-5) and largely dominated the contest from start to finish.

Following her first career setback, Harrison called out “bad b*tch” Cris Cyborg during her in-cage post-fight interview, without directly mentioning her name. Cyborg, who bought the domain “JudoKayla.com” to hype up their potential fight, responded by calling Harrison “basic” and posted a reaction video on X, essentially dismissing the call-out.

“First of all, I’m blocked on everything, but someone sends me what she Tweets about me. It’s just childish,” Harrison told MMA Junkie. “Again, I have nothing bad to say about Cris. The emotions get the best of you inside the cage and I’m hyped up, I’m excited. I’m ready for big fights. I’ve been patient, kept my head down, worked hard. So whoever’s next, I think is going to be one of the best.”

Harrison understands that the PFL may be working on a promotional fight between Bellator’s Cyborg and PFL’s Larissa Pacheco. She acknowledges that if Pacheco wins, that would take “the wind out of her sails” because she might have to fight Pacheco for the fourth time.

Cyborg and Harrison had generated interest in a potential fight during Harrison’s last free agency period, which ended with her re-signing with the PFL. Harrison is nearing the end of her current contract but is likely to stay with the PFL. Now that PFL has acquired Bellator, both parties are under the same promotion, which should facilitate the path to a fight.

“The only thing stopping it is not on this side of the table,” Harrison said. “PFL went and acquired Bellator. Now, there’s really nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. We’ll see what happens.”

If the fight does come together, Harrison is confident about the outcome.

“I think it would be a great fight,” Harrison said. “She’s one of the best to ever compete in this sport for a reason. She’s a top dog, she’s a grinder, she’s tenacious, she goes out there and puts it on girls. I aspire to be like that as well. I go out there and try to be dominant and try to implement my gameplan to the best of my ability.

“So, I think it would be a great fight, and I think that I will beat the sh*t out of her.”

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Story originally appeared on MMA Junkie