Tag: Kayla Harrison

How bleeding for the first time put Kayla Harrison in ‘mom mode’ at UFC 307

When Kayla Harrison realized Ketlen Vieira made her bleed, she immediately thought of her kids and made a decision.

Prior to UFC 307, [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] hadn’t bled in 18 career fights. Then she did in her 19th after Ketlen Vieira landed two hard elbows to her face in the second round of their bantamweight bout this past Saturday, and what immediately crossed Harrison’s mind was her kids sitting cageside.

“I mean, honestly, my kids can’t come to my fights anymore. Because my first thought was, ‘Oh, my kids are seeing this,'” Harrison said Monday in an interview with TMZ. “That is not a thought I need to be having when I’m inside of a cage. I don’t need to be thinking of my kids watching me bleed. I went into mom mode. I was like, ‘Oh my God, I hope they know I’m OK.'”

Harrison, 34, became a single mom through adoption in 2019 when unfortunate family circumstances served as a calling to take in her niece and nephew. The thought of how her kids would react lasted for only a moment. Once it left her mind, Harrison went back to being all business for Round 3.

“After I got that thought out of the way, it was just kind of like – in between the second and third round, I was bleeding, and I kind of hawked a loogie, and I spit,” Harrison said. “There was blood on it, and I just bit down on my mouthguard like, ‘All right, let’s f*cking go.'”

Harrison went on to win the third round on all three judges’ scorecards and secured a unanimous decision win in her second UFC appearance. The former two-time PFL champion expects to fight for the UFC title next against newly crowned champion Julianna Peña.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

Kayla Harrison admits to ‘peeing blood’ week before UFC 307, ‘just not built to weigh 135 pounds’

Life as a UFC bantamweight appears to be taking its toll on Kayla Harrison.

In reflecting on her performance at UFC 307, [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] reached a straightforward assessment.

“It definitely wasn’t my best night in the cage,” Harrison said Monday in an interview with TMZ.

Although Ketlen Vieira made Harrison bleed for the first time in her career, the former two-time PFL champion still managed to dominate their women’s bantamweight bout on the mat, en route to a unanimous decision by scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

Harrison wasn’t exactly her best, but she might’ve had a good reason.

“I don’t like to make excuses, but I had to go to the hospital the week before,” Harrison said. “I was, like, peeing blood. There was some stuff going on. I don’t like to make excuses, but I definitely wasn’t my best inside the cage Saturday night. I know I can be better and grow from it.”

Harrison’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, told MMA reporter Kevin Iole that they made UFC officials aware of the situation prior to UFC 307. Harrison didn’t provide further details as to why she was “peeing blood” and taking antibiotics one week before the fight.

Harrison spent the first six years of her career competing as a PFL lightweight at 155 pounds. With the UFC not offering a women’s lightweight or featherweight division, Harrison has been forced to fight 20 pounds lighter than her normal weight in order to fulfill her UFC dream.

Harrison admits it’s already taken a toll after just two weight cuts for wins against Holly Holm and now Vieira. For that reason, she’d like “a little bit of time off” as a likely title shot with new champ Julianna Peña is up next.

“I need to take a little bit of time off just because of the weight cut and the process that it is for my body,” Harrison said. “I’m not built for – I’m just not built to weigh 135 pounds. Anytime I get under the 150s, it’s not pleasant. …

“The first time was fear of, like, ‘Can I do it?’ This time it was fear of, like, ‘Oh God, I have to do it’ – the anticipation. But I’m blessed. I have such a good team.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

Daniel Cormier: Julianna Peña ‘dropped the ball’ by not calling out Kayla Harrison after UFC 307

Daniel Cormier thinks Julianna Peña should have addressed Kayla Harrison after UFC 307.

[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag] should have addressed [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] after UFC 307.

Peña (13-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) defeated Raquel Pennington (16-10 MMA, 13-6 UFC) by split decision to reclaim the bantamweight title in Saturday’s co-main event at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Earlier in the night, Harrison became No. 1 contender when she defeated Ketlen Vieira.

As Peña was speaking to Joe Rogan post fight in the octagon, a camera showed Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) listening in. But instead of mentioning Harrison’s name, Peña called for a trilogy bout with Amanda Nunes, which Cormier says was a mistake.

“I will say this: She dropped the ball on the callout,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “I mean, Kayla’s on the screen. Say her name. Why no-sell the person that is clearly going to be your No. 1 contender? There is no world where she does not fight Kayla Harrison. She’s fighting her next.

“You might as well put the sell on it right now. Don’t wait until the fight is announced. Now you’re a step behind when you had the opportunity to be a step ahead going into your fight with Kayla Harrison, who will be the No. 1 contender for your championship as we go forward.”

Harrison was tested by Vieira, who made her taste blood for the first time in her MMA career. Peña later said she wasn’t impressed with Harrison’s performance, but Cormier thinks Harrison failing to completely dominate should have encouraged Peña to build the fight.

“Tonight, it’s not like Kayla Harrison looked the best,” Cormier said. “Kayla’s looked better. Tonight, she looked like a girl that needs to get takedowns and if she doesn’t, she is still in the very early stages of her striking.

“So Julianna Peña should’ve, after this performance, been more willing to say her name. At the end of the day, she becomes the champion again and Mike Valle and his team out at Valle Flow now have two UFC champions on their roster – massive for a gym out of Chicago that isn’t a massive, huge gym.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

Julianna Peña not impressed with ‘one-trick pony’ Kayla Harrison’s UFC 307 win

Julianna Peña dismissed Kayla Harrison’s performance at UFC 307.

SALT LAKE CITY – [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag] dismissed [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag]’s performance at UFC 307.

Peña (12-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) reclaimed the bantamweight title when she edged out Raquel Pennington (16-9 MMA, 13-5 UFC)  in Saturday’s co-main event at Delta Center. Earlier in the night, Harrison picked up her second UFC win when she outgrappled Ketlan Vieira.

A split screen showed Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) listening to Peña’s post-fight interview in the octagon, but “The Venezuelan Vixen” instead called for a trilogy bout with Amanda Nunes. Peña insists on settling the score with Nunes, and says she expected a better performance from Harrison.

“I’ll tell you, I was warming up and focusing on my own fight, but with that being said, I had my coaches there watching the fight and kind of giving me the 411 on what was going down. We’re not impressed,” Peña told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the UFC 307 post-fight press conference.

“She said she was going to put her elbow through her skull, and she was going to, you know, do all this damage. (Vieira) didn’t have a scratch on her. It was boring, and she didn’t do anything that jumped off the page like, ‘Ooh, the boogeyman,’ you know what I mean? So I was definitely, especially with hearing from my team, not impressed.”

Harrison was tested by Vieira, who split her head open with an elbow in the clinch. Vieira showed resistance, but Harrison eventually overwhelmed her. Peña thinks the two-time Olympic gold medalist judoka was exposed.

“I definitely think that at some point or another, like Ronda (Rousey), when you figure out the one-trick pony of being able to stuff a takedown, you realize that the fight is more competitive and more even than people want to give it credit for,” Peña said. “I think that once you stuff the takedown, you realize that you’re actually in a tougher fight than you thought you were, and I think that that’s kind of what played into her head tonight.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

Dana White trashes ‘not very bright’ PFL for Kayla Harrison promo before UFC 307: ‘They’re drowning’

UFC CEO Dana White put PFL and Donn Davis on blast after UFC 307 and claimed the rival promotion is bleeding money.

SALT LAKE CITY – UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] didn’t hold back in his latest verbal assault on PFL.

Prior to Saturday’s UFC 307 event at Delta Center, PFL put out a promotional video for its upcoming pay-per-view title fight between Larissa Pacheco and Cris Cyborg on Oct. 19 in Saudi Arabia. The video focused on Pacheco’s victory over [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] in 2022.

Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) parted ways with PFL one fight after the loss (which was Pacheco’s first win against her in three attempts), and joined the UFC. She has started with back-to-back wins in the octagon, including a unanimous decision over Ketlen Vieira at UFC 307.

White was asked about the promo video following the event, and he said it’s just another example of desperation from the rival promotion, which he claims is bleeding financially.

“I think when you’re losing as much money as they are, f*cking go for it,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the UFC 307 post-fight press conference. “F*cking throw the kitchen sink at it. (Donn Davis) just came out recently and said, ‘You know, we’re going to spend more money than they did on the Sphere.’ That sounds f*cking brilliant. How many tickets are you going to sell?

“They’re not very bright. It’s all fair. Knock yourself out. They’re drowning. Drowning. They suck. They’re not good at what they do, so I guess you would just keep trying anything you can to make something stick. All good.”

Harrison has quickly become an attraction in the women’s bantamweight division upon joining the UFC roster. She has taken her personality to another level, and White said that’s a product of escaping her previous environment.

“It’s just another level when you get here,” White said. “They feel it. You f*cking rot away in the PFL for years or f*cking Bellator and sh*t and you finally get here – you feel it.”

Harrison will now seemingly get the chance to maximize her potential and platform. She positioned herself as the top contender by beating Vieira, and later in the night at UFC 307 the title in the weight class changed hands when Julianna Peña won a split decision over Raquel Pennington.

White said he eagerly anticipates a showdown between Peña and Harrison.

“When you get here and you start to break into the top five, top three – it gets tougher,” White said. “Julianna and (Kayla) are both dogs, so it should be fun”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

‘Uncrowned queen’ Kayla Harrison readies for UFC title run after tasting blood for first time

Kayla Harrison continues to tick the boxes of new experiences in combat sports.

SALT LAKE CITY – [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] continues to tick the boxes of new experiences in combat sports.

A little past six years into her MMA career, which has included just one loss, Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) got to see her own blood for the first time in a fight. Ketlen Vieira (14-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) was the opponent from whom it was courtesy of.

That doesn’t mean Harrison was in trouble against the Brazilian in their women’s bantamweight fight to open the UFC 307 pay-per-view main card at Delta Center on Saturday. She mostly rolled to a unanimous decision, including a pair of 30-27 scores. But the blood thing was new.

“That threw me, I’m not going to lie to you,” Harrison told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the post-fight news conference. “Nineteen fights in, I’ve never seen my own blood in the cage. But it feels good.”

Harrison, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo, was in just her second UFC fight. She came to the promotion earlier this year after spending her full MMA career in the PFL, where she won two $1 million season titles.

She said she thinks being tested a bit by Vieira, whom she said she thought could beat UFC 307 co-headliners Julianna Peña or Raquel Pennington, might be the push she needs.

“I feel like I’m going to grow from this tonight,” Harrison said. “It’s a really good learning opportunity for me, and tomorrow, we’re going to go back to the house, rewatch the fight and dissect it. Tomorrow’s a new day – lots of room for improvement for me.”

In the co-feature, Peña (13-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) upset Pennington (16-10 MMA, 13-6 UFC) to win the 135-pound title back about two years after she lost it to Amanda Nunes.

And though Harrison’s fight with Vieira was presumed to be a top contenders bout, Peña said at her post-fight press conference she hopes Nunes comes out of retirement to fight her a third time. The two are 1-1 against each other.

Naturally, Harrison might find the timing for that to be odd. She wants a title shot against new two-time champ Peña, but if she has to keep fighting instead, she will.

“I think that there are athletes, there are performers and there are fighters, and sometimes you’ve got to be able to dig deep. That’s what a fighter does,” Harrison said. “… Fighters fight. When you’re the best in the world, you’re the best in the world. It doesn’t matter (who I fight). I’m the uncrowned queen. If I have the belt, if I don’t have the belt, I’m still the best in the world. I’d fight – I don’t care who it is. Fill in the blank. I mean that when I say it. I don’t think that there’s anybody in the world that will beat me right now.”

And that, she hopes is the X factor to become a champion in the UFC.

“I’ve done some pretty amazing things in my career. I want this to be another really big one,” Harrison said. “I know that I don’t have forever left as an athlete, so I want to make the most of it while I can. I’ve got a long list sh*t I want to do in the UFC, so let’s get that title.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

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Chael Sonnen: Julianna Peña ‘trolled’ Kayla Harrison at UFC 307 by calling out Amanda Nunes

Julianna Peña may legitimately want to settle the score with Amanda Nunes, but Chael Sonnen thought she was trolling Kayla Harrison.

UFC desk analyst [autotag]Chael Sonnen[/autotag] doesn’t believe [autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag] was genuine with her post-fight call out of Amanda Nunes at UFC 307.

In the immediate aftermath of Bruce Buffer shouting “and new” for Peña (13-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) as the split decision winner over Raquel Pennington to reclaim the women’s bantamweight title, “The Venezuelan Vixen” responded to a question from Joe Rogan about who she wants next.

Throughout the build of the event, Olympic gold medalist and two-time PFL champion [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] was propped up as the next title challenger, should she defeat Ketlen Vieira in the main card opener. Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) was also tabbed as the backup for the title fight, should something have gone wrong during fight week.

Harrison’s services as a backup were unnecessary, and she took care of business against Vieira, dominating the fight when it hit the ground.

Peña had the opportunity to put cut a fantastic promo on the potential showdown against Harrison, but instead, she hit everyone with a swerve, calling out Nunes, who is now retired.

Peña and Nunes are 1-1 in title fights, so a rubber match would make sense on paper. However, aside from all-emoji tweets from Nunes, there is no indication she will be returning to action.

As the two-time bantamweight champ carried on with her call out of Nunes, a split screen showed Harrison’s reaction backstage, who motioned with her fingers that Peña was running from her.

Sonnen found the shout hilarious.

“That’s a troll job!” Sonnen said laughing during the UFC 307 post-fight show. “That’s a troll job! Amanda’s not even in the organization. If she comes back, she’d like to start at 145 – I mean, not for nothing, the division’s gone. We got a lot of room between those two fighting.

“It’s obviously Kayla. Peña knows it’s Kayla, which is great. … That was a troll job, and it was very well done.”

Sonnen then harkened back to when former bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley pulled a similar move on Merab Dvalishvili, by calling out Ilia Topuria instead. Ultimately, the fight between O’Malley and Dvalishvili came together, and the latter won the showdown at UFC 306 at Sphere in Las Vegas.

During a post-fight press conference, Peña ensured her ambition was real by doubling down on her call out of Nunes. She stated she believed the former two-division champion retired too early and does not know what she wants to do with her life now.

But before Peña can comfortably move on to a different challenger, Sonnen believes she may have unfinished business with Pennington (16-10 MMA, 13-6 UFC), considering the controversial nature of the judges’ scorecards in the split decision.

“I believe Kayla will get the nod, but Pennington’s back in the conversation,” Sonnen said. “There’s a lot of people, I am one of them, that believes Pennington won this fight. I picked Peña. I have a personal relationship with Peña. I was rooting for Peña. She did not win this fight, not based on what I saw.”

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UFC 307 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Program cracks $29 million total paid since Venum deal

The UFC has now paid more than $29 million to its athletes under the Promotional Guidelines Compliance program following UFC 307.

SALT LAKE CITY – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 307 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $407,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC 307 took place at Delta Center in Utah. The main card aired on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.

The full UFC 307 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag]: $42,000

[autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Roman Dolidze[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Ketlen Vieira[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Stephen Thompson[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Iasmin Lucindo[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Alexander Hernandez[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Austin Hubbard[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Cesar Almeida[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Ihor Potieria[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Ovince Saint Preux[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Tecia Pennington[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Carla Esparza[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Court McGee[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Tim Means[/autotag]: $21,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $6,302,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $29,039,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

UFC 307 results: Julianna Peña claims gold again in controversial decision over Raquel Pennington

Julianna Peña is UFC champion once again, despite most media members and fans disagreeing with the decision.

[autotag]Julianna Peña[/autotag] has gold around her waist once again.

In the UFC 307 co-main event Saturday at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Peña (13-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) defeated [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] (16-10 MMA, 13-6 UFC) by split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) to win the promotion’s women’s bantamweight title.

The first round was closely contest with both women standing at distance, testing out their technical striking. The next three rounds were a bit more clear-cut. In Round 2, Peña took Pennington down and controlled her for much of the round in side control.

In Round 3, Peña dragged the fight to the canvas again. This time, she worked from the back with a body lock. She tried to lock in a rear-naked choke and face crank, but Pennington fended her off until the horn.

Peña found success on the feet in Round 4, as she outpointed Pennington. That is, until Pennington landed the first knockdown of her 19-fight UFC career. It was a massive right hand that floored Peña. Rather than pounce with strikes, Pennington sought a guillotine choke. Peña grabbed hold of Pennington and got back to the feet.

In Round 5, both fighters were visibly tired. Pennington seemed a bit sharper and fresher and landed hard shots on Peña, who wobbled at one point due to a big punch. Peña was much more defensive-minded in the round as Pennington pushed the action.

In the end, it was Peña who was awarded the title by split decision.

The decision was highly controversial with 25 media members scoring the bout for Pennington, one scoring it a draw, and none scoring it for Peña, according to MMADecisions.com. At the time of publication, over 85 percent of fan voters also scored the fight for Pennington.

After the fight, Peña was asked about fighting [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] next. Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) defeated Ketlen Vieira by unanimous decision earlier in the night. Peña elected to call for a trilogy vs. Amanda Nunes instead. The answer visually amused Harrison, who signaled that Peña was running.

Peña first claimed gold in December 2021 when she defeated Nunes by submission in one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. She then lost the title to Nunes by unanimous in July 2022. Saturday’s fight was her first since that bout.

Pennington has a six-fight winning streak snapped by coming up short in her first title defense attempt. She won the title that was vacated by Nunes when she defeated Mayra Bueno Silva by unanimous decision in January.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 307 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

UFC 307 results: Kayla Harrison bleeds for first time, still dominates Ketlen Vieira on ground for decision

Kayla Harrison experienced the first cut of her pro MMA career in the UFC 307 main card opener vs. Ketlen Vieira.

[autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] tasted her own blood for the first time in her MMA career in the UFC 307 main card opener against Ketlen Vieira.

Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) stepped into the octagon at Delta Center in Salt Lake City for her sophomore UFC appearance and dominated Vieira (14-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) when the fight hit the ground to win a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).

Harrison started the fight patiently but still controlled the action from the center. Harrison’s first clinch didn’t go anywhere, which boded well for Vieira’s prospects of keeping the fight upright. However, the second attempt to get the fight to the ground was a clean takedown, leading to heavy ground and pound strikes with less than a minute to go.

The horn sounded to signal the end of Round 1 with Harrison smashing Vieira on the ground.

The pair engaged on the feet for the first half of Round 2 before Harrison began to look for a takedown. The clinch work against the fence produced a few nasty short strikes, including a vicious elbow from Vieira that opened a cut and caused swelling.

The action stalled, prompting referee Marc Goddard to separate the two for the final moments of the round.

With the fight potentially tied going into Round 3, Harrison came out with a few aggressive strikes to set the tone. Harrison closed in and got the fight to the ground with a nice bodylock takedown with just under three minutes remaining and went to work with ground and pound.

Harrison dominated the remainder of the fight until the final horn, when she then helped her opponent to her feet, showing respect for one another.

“You’re the first person to make me bleed!” Harrison told Vieira while hugging after Bruce Buffer read the official decision.

During her post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Harrison didn’t mince words when asked about a potential title shot in her next appearance.

“Ladies, enjoy it while you can, because the queen is home, and she’s coming for that f*cking gold!”

Harrison improves to 2-0 in the UFC, and is likely next in line for a shot at the women’s bantamweight title, which is on the line later on the card in the co-main bout between Raquel Pennington and Julianna Pena.

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Up-to-the-minute UFC 307 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.