UFC 300 takeaways: Kayla Harrison dominant in UFC debut, submits Holly Holm
For quite some time, people have been praising Kayla Harrison as one of the top female fighters in the world, even though she wasn't a part of the UFC. However, after her performance at UFC 300 on Saturday night, she has shown that she might just be the most intimidating female fighter in the UFC.
Harrison emerged victorious in her first UFC match after she defeated former women's bantamweight champ Holly Holm by applying a rear-naked choke, causing Holm to surrender in the second round.
Harrison has clinched her seventh submission win in her career with her recent choke victory. Prior to joining the UFC, Harrison had an impressive record of 16-1 in the Professional Fighter's League, and she even won the women's lightweight tournaments hosted by PFL in 2019, 2021, and 2022.
During her time in the PFL, Harrison only fought in the lightweight category at 155 pounds. In contrast, the bantamweight division, which is the heaviest division for women in the UFC, has a weight limit of 135 pounds. Despite concerns about how the 5-foot-8 fighter would fare with the weight reduction, Harrison put all worries to rest with an impressive showing in her debut at bantamweight, displaying dominance in the ring.
During the fight, she engaged in intense stand-up fighting with Holm, who used to be a boxer world champion. She also performed a variety of moves to bring Holm down to the ground. This resulted in several minutes of severe punching and elbow strikes in the first round, with Holm being pushed against the fence.
During the beginning of the second round, Harrison delivered a headkick to Holm and quickly followed up with a double leg takedown. Harrison almost secured a submission before sending Holm to the ground again with another takedown. Within the span of a minute, Harrison had taken Holm's back and successfully executed a rear-naked choke to win the match.
Prior to her initial MMA bout in 2018, Harrison established herself as a legend in the world of judo. She achieved an abundance of success, including earning Olympic gold medals in judo in both 2012 and 2016, securing three victories at the IJF Grand Slam Tournament, and being inducted into the United States Judo Federation Hall Of Fame.
Following her attainment of the Olympic gold medal in 2016, Harrison was elevated to rokudan (an impressive sixth degree black belt). Consequently, she became the most youthful individual to receive this accolade in America.
Harrison entered the world of MMA by becoming a sparring partner for Ronda Rousey who shared her achievements in judo. Holm dealt a devastating blow to Rousey's UFC reign by knocking her out with a kick to the head in 2015.
This article will be modified with additional findings as the event unfolds.
Stay updated with The Athletic's real-time reporting of UFC 300 by tuning in here.
A new blog post has been published featuring an image attributed to Jeff Bottari, under the Zuffa LLC Getty Images credit.
Gain full entry to premium narratives.
Sign up for The Athletic to get comprehensive analysis of your preferred athletes, groups, competitions, and associations. Give it a try for one week, on our expense.
