Reigning PFL women’s champion Kayla Harrison had quite the first encounter at featherweight.
Harrison stepped into the Invicta FC cage and earned a convincing victory over Courtney King in the main event live on UFC Fight Pass.
The bout marked her first time cutting down to 145 pounds, and the two-time Olympic gold medalist showed no signs of issue with the weight cut or competition.
As she has done throughout her career, Harrison showed why she is one of the top female fighters in the game today, unloading with a series of hard shots that left King a bloody mess.
“I wanna say thank you to everyone for such a successful debut at 145. My coaches @stevemocco @andersonfrancamt @mikebrownmma @jeremyfedorukaeg who stuck it out with me in 5 days of quarantine and a lot of uncertainty,” Harrison posted on social media. “My training partners @chase_boutwell_mma @the_mongoose135 @yanamma (and @adelinegray for coming out to sharpen me up).
“Thank you to the best gym in the world @americantopteam honored to share the mats with the best in the world. Thank you to @invictafc for the opportunity to compete! I had a blast.
“Thank you to my manager @aliabdelaziz000 for working relentlessly to make sure I got a fight this year. Thank you to everyone behind the scenes who believes in me and helps make my dreams a reality.
“And thank you to my family. I have new found motivation and hunger.
“We’re just getting started everyone.”
Harrison hinted that she would not mind competing for Invicta FC once more in early 2021 before returning to the PFL cage in search of another championship and million-dollar check from the promotion.