Ahead of her second outing under the UFC banner this coming Saturday at UFC 307, Kayla Harrison’s former boss Donn Davis has accused her of running from fights in the PFL as he has vented his frustration with her exit.
After accomplishing all that she could during her tenure with the PFL, which included winning their lightweight championship tournament twice, Kayla Harrison decided to join the UFC earlier this year.
The superstar athlete then went on to make her UFC debut at UFC 300 this past April, utterly dominating former champion, Holly Holm, showcasing that she is a future title challenger in the UFC bantamweight division.
Donn Davis accuses Kayla Harrison of running away from huge PFL fights
Ahead of her number one contender fight against Ketlen Vieira this Saturday at UFC 307, her former PFL boss Donn Davis has vented his frustration with her exit from the promotion, putting her on blast for ‘running’ from certain fights.
The 34-year-old was handed her first MMA loss back in 2022 against Larissa Pacheco in the lightweight tournament final and the promotion hoped that they would go on to rematch.
Despite that, Harrison opted to move on with her career by signing with the UFC, which left Donn Davis frustrated.
“We brought Kayla Harrison into MMA from the Olympics, developed her into an 18-1 star, two-time champion, and one of the greatest women, top five in the sport today. I (have) nothing but pride for that and nothing but respect for Kayla as a competitor. To build the company I want every great fighter here,” Davis told MMA Today.
“I’m disappointed that we couldn’t keep Kayla here for, what I think, are the two biggest fights of her legacy and her career: avenging Pacheco and winning the championship, and beating Cyborg, who is the greatest ever.
“I think those are the two toughest fights ahead of Kayla. I don’t like that she ran from those. I don’t like that she ran to a brand to validate herself. I think so highly of Kayla Harrison. She doesn’t need a brand to validate her. She’s that great… So that disappointed me,” Davis admitted.
Kayla Harrison and Julianna Pena argue on stage at the UFC 307 press conference
There is a bitter history between Harrison and the UFC 307 title challenger, Julianna Pena, as ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ has continuously accused the Olympic gold medalist of being on steroids.
At the pre-fight press conference this past Thursday, despite not fighting each other, Harrison and Pena got locked into a war of words with each other as they threw verbal jabs on stage.
“I have more finishes than Julianna has wins so I don’t know what she’s talking about she better slow down,” Harrison stated.
“I know violence and Kayla just got here to the scene as far as I’m concerned… The last time she faced a Brazilian she came running into the UFC so,” Pena responded.
“You started your career in 2009, you’re 10-5, I started in 2018 and I’m 17-1, who have you fought?” Harrison finished the exchange.
Although Harrison is hopeful of earning a title shot with a win, Pena admitted earlier this week that if she beats Raquel Pennington and becomes the champion, she will call out Amanda Nunes for a trilogy instead.
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