The most intriguing fight of Kayla Harrison’s career thus far has been derailed.
Former Bellator titleholder Julia Budd (16-4) has suffered an injury and has been forced to withdraw from the 2022 PFL 6 headliner against two-time PFL women’s lightweight champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist Harrison (13-0).
Stepping in to replace Budd on the July 1 card, which takes place at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta will be longtime veteran Kaitlin Young (12-12-1).
MMA Junkie verified news of the change with a person close to the situation following an initial report from ESPN. The person requested anonymity because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Harrison is in pursuit of her third consecutive PFL season title. She opened her 2022 campaign with a unanimous decision win over Marina Mokhnatkina at 2022 PFL 3 in May. Looking to pull a monumental upset will be Young, who hasn’t competed since an October loss to Budd.
The latest 2022 PFL 6 lineup now includes:
- Kayla Harrison vs. Kaitlin Young
- Rory MacDonald vs. Sadibou Sy
- Brett Cooper vs. Ray Cooper III
- Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Joao Zeferino
- Jarrah Al-Silawi vs. Magomed Umalatov
- Genah Fabian vs. Larissa Pacheco
- Nikolay Aleksakhin vs. Gleison Tibau
- Marina Mokhnatkina vs. Abigail Montes
- Martina Jindrova vs. Zamzagul Fayzallanova
- Helena Kolesnyk vs. Vanessa Melo
