Kayla Harrison Admits That There Will Be ‘More Opportunities’ Fighting at 145 Pounds

Kayla Harrison’s featherweight debut in Invicta FC went much like the majority of her 155-pound appearances in the Professional Fighters League.

That is, the two-time Olympic gold medalist was dominant. Harrison rolled past Courtney King in the Invicta FC 43 headliner, winning via technical knockout 4:48 into Round 2 to run her professional mark to 8-0. Perhaps more importantly, Harrison was able to make weight without issue — though it wasn’t an enjoyable process.

"I got to fight week about 153 pounds and had to quarantine the whole time," Harrison recently told ESPN. "I brought plastics and sat in an Epsom salt bath for the first time ever. It was terrible. But I got down to 146 pounds the night before and ate and drank to help me sleep. I woke up the next morning and only needed 15 more minutes in the bath to be on weight.

"Everybody knows I don't believe in weight cutting. I don't believe it's super healthy. But I also understand I'm in the business of Kayla Harrison, and there are going to be more opportunities for me to fight at 145 pounds. There aren't a lot of fights for me at 155, so this is probably going to be in my future.”

Harrison, who is still under contract with PFL through its 2021 season, received permission from the organization to fight under the Invicta FC banner. Harrison hopes to fight for Invicta again before the next PFL campaign kicks off in April.

As Harrison admitted, there are more lucrative fights at 145 pounds than at lightweight — including a potential matchup with two-division UFC champion Amanda Nunes. Both Harrison and Nunes train at American Top Team in Florida.

"I didn't suffer making the weight as bad as I or probably others thought I would," Harrison said. "I always knew I could make 145, I just didn't want to do it. Realistically, there will be more fights for me at this weight. There's that part of me that wants to fight the best, and Amanda is the greatest of all time. So, yes, making weight last week is a step towards that.

"But there is another piece that has realized through competition, if it's meant to be, it will happen. For my own personal reasons, I would love to fight Amanda someday and test my skills against her. I'm not ready for that yet, but I know that I will be ready someday, and hopefully she'll still be fighting by then and we'll do it with respect and integrity.”