After her dominant victory at UFC 307, newly crowned UFC bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison made a stunning revelation: she contemplated retirement immediately after achieving her dream due to the brutal weight-cutting process required to compete at 135 pounds.
In a candid interview with Luke Thomas, Harrison admitted the severity of her situation: “I’m not going to lie to you. Saturday, Friday morning, I thought about retiring on Saturday night… It takes a piece of your soul. It takes a piece out of you.”
The two-time Olympic gold medalist described in detail the grueling 15-week process she endures to make the bantamweight limit. Beginning with strict dietary restrictions, Harrison follows a regimen that includes walking six miles daily, biking for two hours or swimming for an hour and a half, with no days off. On Sundays, she increases her walking distance to eight miles.
“Six weeks out I start heat acclamation. So, at 9:00 at night, after I put my kids to bed, I go sit in a sauna for an hour by myself and, you know, talk to God and think about hopefully this is worth it,” Harrison revealed.
Despite being a natural featherweight, Harrison believes 145 pounds would be her ideal fighting weight. However, she credits her exceptional team for managing her weight cut safely: “I’m blessed with the resources to be able to do that… Eric is checking my blood pressure and checking my heart rate and checking my blood sugar. Like everybody’s so dialed in.”
Harrison’s team includes nutrition experts and medical professionals who monitor her closely throughout the process. The UFC is also heavily involved in supervising her weight management, ensuring her safety despite the extreme measures.
While Harrison acknowledged the physical toll, she also highlighted the mental fortitude she’s gained from these challenges: “Who I become during that process… I am refined in the fire and I thought that I was unbreakable before.”
For Harrison, who competed at 172 pounds during her judo career, the transformation to bantamweight has been particularly dramatic. She joked about her earlier Olympic diet consisting of “pizza rolls, diet coke, Oreos, Hot Pockets,” contrasting it with her current scientific approach to nutrition and weight management.
Despite considering retirement, Harrison hasn’t made any definitive decisions about her future. With a potential super-fight against former champion Amanda Nunes on the horizon, Harrison remains focused on the present: “I live here in the present moment. I take it one day at a time, one fight at a time… I’ll know when it’s time.”
Harrison continues to weigh her options, one thing is clear: the physical and mental challenges of competing at 135 pounds take a significant toll, even on one of the most accomplished combat sports athletes in history.
Kayla Harrison Maintained Judo Principles and Techniques Throughout Her MMA Journey
Harrison’s approach to MMA has been calculated and disciplined, bringing the technical precision she developed over nearly 30 years in judo. “This is what got me to where I am. Don’t abandon it now,” Harrison explained about her judo foundation. While many fighters have moved away from traditional martial arts in favor of wrestling-based approaches, Harrison has found success by leaning into her expertise.
During her fight with Peña, Harrison’s judo background was on full display. She executed a beautiful kouchi-gari (minor inner reap) for one of her takedowns, and throughout the bout utilized variations of her judo techniques adapted for the cage environment. This adaptation didn’t happen overnight—Harrison has spent years developing what her coach Justin Flores calls “wall waza,” a system for implementing judo techniques against the cage.
“It’s tough to defend something that you haven’t spent a lifetime building up,” Harrison noted about her judo advantage. “I know that I’m going to be the better judoka in every single fight I have ever. Like, I don’t care if you brought in a judo coach. I don’t care if you’re learning defense or trips or whatever—I could do those in my sleep.”
Harrison believes judo provides an excellent base for MMA, especially as anti-wrestling tactics have become more sophisticated. While wrestling remains fundamental to men’s MMA, Harrison’s success might signal a cyclical shift in the sport where judo techniques gain prominence as fighters seek new ways to take opponents to the ground.
Working with an elite coaching staff that includes Steve Mocco and Mike Brown at American Top Team, Harrison has successfully blended her judo foundation with other fighting disciplines. The techniques she drills regularly, like the Kimura to North-South to Crucifix back transition, show how she’s integrated her judo knowledge into a complete MMA skill set.
The judo community has embraced Harrison’s MMA journey. At her championship fight, approximately 50 people from her judo background were in attendance, including Jimmy Pedro Jr. and Sr., her longtime judo coaches. Her support network extends from the New York Athletic Club, which sponsored her judo career, to former teammates who remain her closest friends.
Harrison: There Were Never Plans to Challenge Nunes While They Were Teammates
Harrison, who dominated Julianna Peña to capture the UFC bantamweight title last weekend, addressed the circumstances surrounding Nunes’ departure from their shared gym.
“When she left the team, initially I thought it was because she lost and she just needed a change of scenery. But I guess she has said in interviews since then that she left because of me,” Harrison explained. “I can only assume it’s because I was there the night that she lost to Juliana.”
Harrison believes Nunes may have anticipated a potential challenge from her following the loss, but insists that scenario was never in the cards.
“I think she thought that I was gonna get in the cage and like challenge her, and that just wasn’t the case. That was never going to happen,” Harrison said. “I would never have done that because she was my teammate and because I do have respect for her.”
The two-time Olympic gold medalist revealed that their coaches at American Top Team were actively working to keep both fighters on separate career paths.
“Everyone at American Top Team was doing everything they could to not let that happen. They wanted me to stay in the PFL to keep making money. They wanted her to stay in the UFC. They were happy with having both of us cruising.”
Despite limited training sessions together, Harrison maintains she has no animosity toward Nunes and has always been open about wanting to face her as a sign of respect.
“I made it no secret that I wanted to fight her from day one. And I meant it from a place of respect. To me, that’s an honor,” Harrison said. “There’s no bad blood. There’s no ill will. She is great as a person and a great fighter.”
