Kayla Harrison cut a promo after returning to the win column but didn’t get the response she wanted from Bellator women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg.
Harrison (16-1) called out Cyborg (27-2 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) after defeating ex-UFC fighter Aspen Ladd at the 2023 PFL Championship this past Friday.
With PFL acquiring Bellator, Harrison is hoping the long-desired Cyborg superfight could finally happen. But Cyborg’s response on X (formerly Twitter) seemed rather dismissive, which disappointed Harrison.
I’m a women.
Not a girl.Women don’t refer to themselves as bitch.https://t.co/0MtigVKg66
You basic. https://t.co/hlEG3qGhTj
— CrisCyborg.Com (@criscyborg) November 25, 2023
I’m a women. Not a girl. Women don’t refer to themselves as b*tch. You basic.
“I wasn’t surprised,” Harrison said on ESPN’s “DC & RC.” “She only talks sh*t when we’re in different promotions and there’s somewhere to hide. Now that we’re under the same roof, I feel she’s going to get real quiet real fast.
“I don’t even want to talk about her because I feel like every time I do, it’s just like jinxing it. We’ve been talking about this fight since before I made my MMA debut. I’m 17 fights in now. So, if it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen soon, but I don’t have much faith in her. Easy fight.”
Cyborg is currently gearing up for a boxing match on Jan. 19 and is linked to a fight with 2023 PFL lightweight champion Larissa Pacheco instead, according to PFL founder Donn Davis.
Harrison was asked about seeking big fights elsewhere like the UFC, which she already did two years ago when she was a free agent. The possibility of a fight with the likes of trash-talking Julianna Peña excites the two-time Olympic gold medalist judoka, but Harrison won’t look too far ahead.
“I think that that would be a great fight,” Harrison said of Peña. “She’s not afraid to speak her mind. She talks a big talk. She thinks very highly of herself. I don’t know why, but she does.
“So, I think that would be a great fight, but I’m not a free agent yet. The PFL and Ali (Abdelaziz) I know are working on stuff. There is a Cyborg potential there. I’m not trying to stir the pot. I did that free agency thing two years ago. Holy sh*t, it is exhausting.”
