Kayla Harrison has admitted that her multi-million dollar MMA career likely wouldn’t have been possible without Ronda Rousey’s influence.
The legendary judoka was a two-time Olympic champion before making the switch to the cage, where she won two $1million PFL Championships. Now, she is taking on Julianna Pena in the co-main event of UFC 316 in an effort to become UFC bantamweight champion on Saturday night.
Harrison had many run-ins with Rousey during their judo days, but they only competed once back in 2005. Rousey got the victory, and they both went on to become legends in their own rights on the US Judo team.
Kayla Harrison admits Ronda Rousey made her MMA career possible
Before Ronda Rousey made her UFC debut, promotional boss Dana White declared that women would never fight in the octagon. She changed all of that, and over a decade later the likes of Kayla Harrison are headline attractions in world title pay-per-view bouts.
“Ronda had an amazing career and I would not be here if it were not for Ronda Rousey,” she told Bloody Elbow at today’s UFC 316 Media Day. “I have nothing but gratitude for her and the glass ceilings that she shattered for women in this sport.
“In our judo careers, I didn’t tell any lies. My career in judo is going to be very hard to touch. And in MMA, that’s the goal.”
Kayla Harrison recalls struggles during the time she faced Ronda Rousey
Harrison is three years Rousey’s junior, which means that when they competed in 2005 it was a 15-year-old competing against a girl just shy of turning 18 years old. At the time, the judo legend was having myriad struggles in her personal life that affected her on the mats.
“I was 15 and I was being sexually abused by my judo coach, it was not the best time in my life,” Harrison explained in an emotional moment at Media Day. “She beat me and I’m not taking anything away from Ronda.”
Harrison’s loss to Rousey ended up being the fuel to her fire in the sport; earning Olympic Gold Medals in women’s judo in 2012 and 2016. She made her professional MMA debut in June 2018 at PFL 2 in Chicago, submitting Brittney Elkin with Rousey’s signature armbar technique.