Kayla Harrison struck a meteor amid the already present waves of hype during her April pay-per-view debut. Now, ‘Doug’ digs deep as she edges in even closer to the championship belt. However, the bantamweight phenom is not just there yet. She finds herself fighting at the UFC 307 pay-per-view event, inches away from her target. Raquel Pennington vs. Juliana Pena will co-main the card from inside Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Relatively new signing Harrison was expected to run through Holly Holm at UFC 300. However, there were doubts about her weight cut, which she put to rest. Now she looks forward to her second UFC fight against No. 2 ranked Bantamweight Ketlen Vieira next month at UFC 307. However, if either the champ or challenger were to pull out or fall sick, Kayla Harrison is ready to pitch in under thirty seconds.
If one of those bitch*s gets sick or hurt or injured, I will take that fight on 30-seconds notice. I’m ready. Best in the world, I’m ready. So let’s go… where’s Tanya Harding when you need her? …[laughs]
Kayla Harrison to John Morgan ( @JOHNMORGANMMA ) for Cageside Grind City Media; H/T: SBNation Network
With no more WMMA featherweight division in the UFC, Harrison’s title hopes lay at bantamweight. Hydrating lifelong along the 172 lbs margin, Kayla Harrison has proven a force at bantamweight as well. Classic trash-talker Juliana Pena thinks the secret is in the needle but it’s proven otherwise.
The American Top Team (ATT) standout is also proving herself quite a draw, sharing a card headlined by brand value champ and friend Alex Pereira for two times in a row. LHW Champion Pereira vs. Khalil Roundtree headlines UFC 307. If she gets past Vieira, Harrison has a clear line of sight to the gold. As such, she has some clear choices about who she prefers to face.
Kayla Harrison makes a choice between Raquel Pennington and Julianna Pena
Confusingly, Harrison didn’t get a title shot after dismantling Holly Holm at UFC 300. It’s not like brand value signings from other promotions haven’t received title shots in their dominant second or third running before. Instead, she had to wait for the winner of Raquel Pennington vs. Juliana Pena, the co-headliner of the UFC 307 pay-per-view.
Kayla Harrison looks to run through Juliana Pena in 30 seconds (Source: heavy.com/express.co.uk)Now, when Kayla Harrison walks the walk and talks the talk, she plans to be a double-edged sword. The No. 3 ranked bantamweight and #12 WMMA top pound-for-pound plans to finish her match well. Later in the night, she’ll even be ready to sub in on short notice as backup for the Women’s bantamweight title scrap. Harrison said as much during the recent 2024 PFL Playoffs 2. On choosing between Raquel ‘Rocky’ Pennington or the ‘Venezuelan Vixen’, the 34-year-old had a clear choice.
I mean, honestly, to have a preference would mean that I have an emotion…I don’t care. I really do not care. Like, the goal is the belt. But if we’re talking about Kayla, the psychopath, like, of course, I would rather put an elbow through Juliana’s skull than Raquel’s. Like, Juliana’s face is annoying. Of course, I would pick that face like, of course.
Kayla Harrison furhter said, for Cageside Grind City Media
The self-diagnosed psych*path and violent finisher has no enmity with ‘Rocky’. She is just gunning for the belt. With a win, there is no doubt that Harrison will be next in line for the title, and she doesn’t have a preference, although she would like to maim Pena. Harrison had hoped for an interim challenge with her when Pennington was MIA. However, the outspoken trash-talker out of Valle Flow Striking made things sour. Now ‘Doug’ is single-mindedly keeping to her violent intentions as she fights for the gold gradually.
