After PFL Finals, Kayla Harrison Focusing On Family, Big Fights

For Kayla Harrison, training and competing is all she has known for years.

And it’s gotten to be too much.

Harrison, who will see another PFL title later this month, plans to relax her fight schedule in 2023. That means no much action within the season-long tournament schedule of the promotion she calls home.

“I have everything I want,” Harrison said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “I want for nothing. Everything I have is enough. I’m grateful and blessed beyond measure. Financially abundant. Three titles, let’s not get greedy, I’m happy with that. I’m ready to be patient and wait for the fights that are really going to catapult my legacy.”

So, what does that mean for someone who signed a new multi-year deal with the PFL recently? Super-fights, including possible encounters with the likes of Cris Cyborg or Aspen Ladd.

The 32-year-old former Olympic gold medalist admitted that it is difficult cutting that much weight that many times in a short period.

“When I tell you that it is a mental and physical grind to get to this title, it certainly is,” she said. “I can’t even imagine trying to make 145 pounds four times in six months. I think that is, for me, impossible. I’m hypoglycemic. It would be a health risk, and I wouldn’t be performing at my best if I did that to my body. I know it’s time for me to be patient and get the big fights.”

Harrison faces Larissa Pacheco on November 25 at PFL Championships in the main event. The bout will be for $1 million and the lightweight title, and headline the ESPN+ pay-per-view portion.