Two-time Professional Fighters League women's lightweight champion Kayla Harrison knew throughout the entirety of the 2021 season that she was going to test the waters of free agency, a process that began shortly after she claimed her second title this past October. Finally, after more than four months of negotiations with all of the sport's leading promotions, she has a lucrative new contract that will keep her with the PFL.
"I'm definitely relieved that the whole process is over, and I'm for sure excited to get back in the cage and do what I love," Harrison told The Underground. "You know, talking about fighting is cool and all, but I actually like to do it, so I'm looking forward to getting back in there."
During the process, Harrison (12-0) was spotted cageside at both Ultimate Fighting Championship and Bellator MMA events, leading to speculation that she might sign to one of those promotions and immediately challenge their reigning champions in hopes of establishing herself as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport.
Note: This video contains explicit language.
Ultimately, though, PFL officials made a major play to keep her in the fold for their upcoming 2022 season, which airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+, as well as to establish her as a cornerstone of a new pay-per-view product they hope to debut before year's end.
Harrison said making a decision wasn't easy.
"It was tougher than I thought it would be, just in the sense that – 'tough,' that's such a 'Oh, poor me. People are fighting over paying me more money. Oh, my poor, pitiful life,' you know? No, it's not really tough," Harrison said. "It was just mentally draining in the sense that I thought I was going here, then I thought I was going here, then I thought I was going here. There was a lot of ups and downs to it and a lot of stuff that happened behind the scenes and behind closed doors that, you know, I learned a lot. I learned a lot about the business. I learned a lot about promotions, and I learned a lot about contracts, but I'm definitely glad it's over, for sure."
Harrison said she was very close to signing with Bellator MMA and taking an immediate matchup with MMA legend and reigning Bellator women's featherweight champ Cris Cyborg, but PFL officials made an 11th-hour charge to retain her services, vowing to help Harrison get the biggest fights possible to help her reach her goal of being known as the greatest female fighter of all time, as well as to provide financial security for her and her two children.
"I'm happy to be staying with the PFL," Harrison said. "They stepped up in a big way, and they've also assured me and made it very clear to me that they want to put on big fights, so it was really a win-win for Kayla Harrison.
"You talk about legacy, and you talk about money and security, and I'm going to get both. I'm going to have the security of a great paycheck and a very lucrative deal so my family and I can be set, and I'm also going to continue to chase my legacy, and the PFL is going to help me do that."
Cooper Neil/PFL
The PFL differs from other major MMA promotions in that it utilizes a league structure, with athletes earning points in a regular season before taking part in playoffs in hopes of claiming an annual league championship. Harrison will once again enter the field for the PFL's 2022 season in the women's lightweight division, where she has already claimed a pair of titles.
But she's also willing to cut down to 145 pounds for big fights, like one with Cyborg, which Harrison isn't ruling out despite her new deal. She said PFL founder Donn Davis has promised the organization is going to aggressively try and find a way to book the fight, even if it means working outside the industry status quo, where promotions don't typically allow talent to compete under different banners.
"When I talked to Donn, and one of the things that really sort of put my worries about my legacy to rest, was he was like, 'Listen, 'I don't care if we have to do this on the Moon, I don't care if we have to cross-promote, co-promote, we're going to make this fight happen. This is the fight to make happen,'" Harrison said. "I was like, 'Well, hell yeah, it is. Let's go.'
"I think that the PFL is doing all the right things. They started a Challenger Series. They've got developmental contracts going out, so not only are they pushing the stars like the top-tier athlete, I guess you would say, but they're also starting to develop their own generation of stars and the next generation of stars, so I'm really impressed with the PFL and all the work they're putting in behind the scenes that people maybe aren't realizing, and I'm excited to be a part of it again."
With her immediate future now secured, Harrison can now turn her focus to what happens in the cage rather than dealing with the distractions that came along with her free agency. The PFL's 2022 season starts in April, and the company is targeting a pay-per-view event along the way, as well.
Harrison is expected to feature prominently in it all.
"I still have a lot to prove," Harrison said. "I still have a lot of work to do. You know, I made it very clear to the whole world that I want to be the greatest of all time. I want to go down as the greatest of all time. I'm not there yet.
"The work's not done. It's not something that's lightning. It's not something that's a snap of a finger or the flick of a switch. It's a bridge that's built brick-by-brick, and I'm going to keep building those bricks and laying them down and, you know, just watch. Watch me."
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