Two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison is looking to win her third $1million PFL prize - and all signs point towards a clash with Cris Cyborg next.
Harrison, 32, made the career switch to MMA after winning gold in judo at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic games. She has since gone unbeaten in 15 fights, winning the 2019 and 2021 PFL women's lightweight tournaments to bank herself $2million in prize money. Harrison looks to add pick up another $1million cheque against Larrisa Pacheco, who she has already beaten twice, in this season's finals on Friday night.
This year's season will be Harrison's last in the PFL, but she is hoping to compete in the promotion's inaugural super-fight league next year, with Cyborg being discussed as a potential opponent. Before she thinks about fighting the multiple-promotion champion, Harrison has insisted she must not overlook Pacheco regardless of her two past wins against her.
“She has nothing to lose. I know that she’s young, she’s hungry and she’s a killer in her own right. Can you call it a rivalry if you’ve never won a round?” Harrison said of Pacheco. “I don’t know if that’s fair. I don’t want to put that kind of pressure on Larissa. She’s coming to take my head off. I think about that every time I maybe don’t want to train, to go for a run or want to sleep in.”
Since losing to Harrison for the second time in the 2019 women’s lightweight finals, Pacheco has picked up five consecutive first-round knockout wins. Pacheco scored more points than Harrison in this year's playoffs and she feels insulted by discussions about Harrison's future plans given the pair are yet to meet in the cage.
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The hard-hitting Brazilian has come a long way since being cut by the UFC seven years ago, but Harrison has promised history will repeat itself as she plans to “break” her rival. "I’m gonna go out there and instil my will one round at a time, one minute at a time, one exchange at a time, one breath at a time and I’m gonna break her," she added.
“I train harder than pretty much anyone I know. I put in the work so that on fight night it looks easy. I get hit. I’m not worried about getting hit. It’s always been about staying humble and staying hungry. It’s my job to be the best version of Kayla Harrison on Friday night.”
