Dana White hasn’t been shy about his opinions towards Kayla Harrison’s standing in today’s women’s MMA landscape. In an interview last week, the UFC president had this to say about the PFL’s reigning women’s lightweight champ:
“They pay her an obscene amount of money to fight over there. If I was her, I’d stay right where she is and keep picking off the people over (there). When you come here… Amanda Nunes is no joke. Shevchenko is no joke. Rose Namajunas is no… these are all the best women in the world. These are the best female fighters in the world.
“I don’t blame her, I would stay there and keep fighting the type of women she’s fighting there before I would come here and fight Amanda Nunes.”
As of right now, White has yet to be fully impressed with Harrison, especially when comparing the quality of opponents.
“Kayla Harrison hasn’t fought anybody yet. She hasn’t fought anybody,” White told Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole in a recent interview.
“Let me tell you what. Let me put Amanda Nunes in with the girls that she’s fought. Might be the first death in MMA. And listen, I like her. I got nothing against her. But, come on. Let’s be honest.”
If Harrison signs with the UFC and is able to drop to 145 lbs, the featherweight rankings might just finally have one fighter listed, as it is currently empty.
Nunes, the only reigning double-champ in the UFC today, has defended the 145-pound title twice, and the 135-pound title five times. She is set for her sixth bantamweight title defense against Julianna Peña at UFC 269 on December 11.
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