In just a short amount of time, Kayla Harrison has transformed herself into one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
The reigning Professional Fighters League (PFL) lightweight champion continues to showcase her skills, which were first presented to the world on the Olympic level.
Harrison scored gold while competing at the Olympics, capturing her medals at both the 2012 and 2016 Games. She also won gold at the Pan American Games and was the 2010 World Judo Championship.
Once she decided on becoming a mixed martial artist, though, Harrison began developing even more skills.
Training with the famed American Top Team in Florida under Jimmy Pedro, Harrison has showcased her skills through 10 MMA fights. She is a perfect 10-0 with four knockouts and four submission victories during that run.
In 2019, Harrison captured the PFL lightweight championship with a five-round decision victory over Larissa Pacheco. It marked her first five-round contest, and she completely dominated.
While making a one-off appearance at featherweight for Invicta FC showed that Harrison is capable of changing weight classes, she returned home in May and earned a quick first round finish over Mariana Morais to begin her quest for another title.
In June, Harrison again disposed of another opponent, submitting veteran Cindy Dandois in the opening round.
All in all, there is no doubting that Harrison has proclaimed herself a spot on the pound-for-pound rankings in female MMA. In fact, she might just be on the overall pound-for-pound list regardless of gender.
Harrison is scheduled to return to action at PFL 9 when she faces Genah Fabian in the semifinals of the lightweight tournament on ESPN2. The winner of that will take on either Pacheco or Taylor Guardado in the finals.