After years of waiting, Kayla Harrison is a UFC fighter.
The promotion has signed the Olympic gold medalist as a Professional Fighters League fighter, who will make her debut against Holly Holm at UFC 300 on April 13, Dana White announced Tuesday.
Harrison has long emerged as one of the most famous female mixed martial artists outside of the UFC. She is the only American to win an Olympic gold medal in judo, doing so in 2012 and 2016 at 78 kg. She turned professional after the 2016 title and quickly became one of the PFL’s biggest draws.
With the PFL, Harrison enjoyed a 15-fight undefeated streak, moved out once to fight with Invicta and won two lightweight titles. She suffered her first professional loss in a 2022 lightweight title fight against Larissa Pacheco and fought only once in 2023, defeating former UFC fighter Aspen Ladd in a catchweight bout.
Harrison’s debut will see her move up to bantamweight to face Holm, a necessity due to the apparent end of the women’s featherweight division in the UFC following the retirement of Amanda Nunes. Harrison fought once at featherweight, defeating Courtney King by second-round TKO in her Invicta fight.
The Harrison-Holm fight could be big in the bantamweight division, with Raquel Pennington defeating Mayra Bueno Silva for the belt. Former champion Juliana Pena is the obvious next step for Pennington, but Harrison could be in good position for a shot after that if she beats Holm, who is currently ranked fifth in the division.
UFC keeps adding 300 cards
Signing Harrison is the kind of splash the UFC was looking for with its UFC 300 card already looking stacked. In addition to Harrison-Holm, fans in Las Vegas will get to see:
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Zhang Weili vs. Yan Xiaonan (women’s strawweight)
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Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway (Lightweight)
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Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan (lightweight)
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Jiri Prochazka vs. Alexander Rakic ​​(Light Heavyweight)
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Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Cody Garbrandt (bantamweight)
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Kelvin Kattar vs. Aljamain Sterling (Featherweight)
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Bo Nickal vs. Cody Brundage (middleweight)
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Jim Miller vs. Bobby Green (Lightweight)
That card now features nine current or former UFC titleholders, in addition to one of the sport’s fastest-rising stars (Nickels) and the promotion’s all-time leader in wins (Miller). Zhang will defend her belt against compatriot Yan, while Gaethje will defend her symbolic “BMF” title.
