Raquel Pennington expects a rough UFC debut for Kayla Harrison.
Two-time PFL lightweight champion Harrison (16-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes her bantamweight debut against former champion Holly Holm (15-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) on April 13 at UFC 300 in Las Vegas.
Like many others, Pennington wonders how the first-time cut to 136 pounds will impact Harrison. But the reigning UFC bantamweight champion isn’t sure if Harrison will be able to hang with elite-level competition in the UFC.
“I was wondering if she was ever going to sign with the UFC,” Pennington said on Sirius XM’s “Unlocking the Cage.” “There’s been a lot of talk throughout the years, but she’s been successful in PFL. My biggest question honestly is how is she going to make the weight? She’s a very dense chick. There’s no denying that.
“I feel like, as far as coming into the UFC, a lot of athletes haven’t truly been challenged, and I feel like she hasn’t truly been challenged in the PFL. To now come in and have this platform, that’s going to give her a run for her money for sure. She has a huge hype following her, but I think she’s going to be exposed a little bit. First and foremost, the hardest part of this is making the weight.”
Pennington, who’s lost to Holm twice, believes the former champion has lost a step. But if Holm can keep the fight with two-time Olympic gold medalist judoka Harrison standing, Pennington pictures a bad night for Harrison.
“I feel like Holly is at a point in her career where she’s older, and I don’t mean that in any bad way, but things get tough when you get older as an athlete,” Pennington said. “It takes a different toll on your body and stuff, and she’s been around for a very long time.
“I feel like her last few fights, she hasn’t had that ‘it’ anymore. She’s been battling different injuries and stuff, and it just feels like she’s on her way out. But I feel like if Holly actually brings back the Holly that first came into the UFC and strikes with Kayla, it’s not going to go Kayla’s direction at all.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.
