Over the last few months, there’s been a back-and-forth between PFL rising star Kayla Harrison and UFC bantamweight champion Julianna Peña. Right after her UFC 269 win in December, Peña took a shot at Harrison with this statement:
“I think she’s the lesser of the training partners for her and Amanda Nunes. If that’s the case and I just took out Amanda, I don’t know what kind of position that would put her in. But she’s been fighting the B-leagues. I’ve been fighting in the UFC.”
Harrison later responded saying “The Venezuelan Vixen” should “be careful” with her words. But in a recent interview on MMA Fighting’s Fighter vs. Writer, the Olympic gold medalist is now warning the media for pushing a fight narrative between them.
“Listen, you and the media need to be careful. You’re going to get somebody hurt and it’s going to be on your hands, not mine,” Harrison said. “Because you’re going to get a girl hurt. You’re going to get her really, seriously hurt and it’s not going to be on my conscience because you guys did this.
“You guys gave her this platform and you allowed her to think that she could stand in a cage with me and beat me and you gave her this delusion. I mean it. You guys are to blame.
“If I ever get the pleasure of fighting her, whatever happens, I want all of you guys to go and look in the mirror and know that you did that,” Harrison continued. “Cause you are stirring it and I am very frustrated that I can’t just beat her ass.”
After a brief period of free agency, the 31-year-old Harrison eventually re-signed with the PFL in March after the organization gave her a “favorable” new deal that trumped other offers. She is scheduled to face eight-time sambo champion Marina Mokhnatkina at PFL 3 on May 6th.
As for Peña, she is currently coaching against Amanda Nunes in the 30th installment of The Ultimate Fighter. The two are expected to face each other in a bantamweight title rematch after the season ends.
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