PFL champ Kayla Harrison targets Sarah Kaufman fight ahead of 2020 season

LAS VEGAS – Kayla Harrison might now be a millionaire, but don’t think for a moment it’s changed her approach – or her desire to win – ahead of the next PFL season.

Reigning 2019 women’s lightweight tournament champion Harrison (7-0 MMA, 7-0 PFL) talked to MMA Junkie at this past Saturday’s Dominance MMA media day in Las Vegas and said nothing has changed since her $1 million-winning performance, and explained she’s chomping at the bit to get back into competitive action.

“Nothing has changed – just the amount of zeroes in my bank account. But that’s literally it,” Harrison said. “I had to take a little time off because I hurt my ankle, so I was gunning to get back in the gym. So I’m training two times a day, every day, and just getting better at what I do – honing my craft.”

Harrison was expected to face Sarah Kaufman in the finale this past New Year’s Eve, but after the Canadian lost to Larissa Pacheco in the semifinals, it meant arguably the biggest female matchup in the PFL fell by the wayside. But it remains a matchup the two-time Olympic judo gold medalist would love to take on.

“I said that I would like to fight Sarah first, but I don’t know how that’s going to play out. I’m not entirely sure,” Harrison said. “I don’t know when I’m fighting – I have a rough idea, obviously, because of the season. They haven’t told us specifics.

“So I’m really just going back to training, (and) getting back in shape. I’m not the type of person who does good without a goal. I like having a date, I like having an opponent, I like having a deadline. Right now, I’m training with no purpose, and I hate that. I mean, (I’m) getting better. But hopefully, the PFL gives me an answer soon because I’m getting antsy.”

The 2020 season is expected to follow a similar format to the 2019 version, which Harrison won with four straight wins – two first-round submissions sandwiched by a pair of decision victories over Pacheco.

If there are any tweaks to the format, Harrison said it won’t affect her approach.

“I just show up and fight, you know?” she said. “The one thing that’s going to be the same is I’m going to remain champion. That’s going to stay the same.”

The only new thing Harrison does expect to see, however, is a new championship belt.

“I better (get a new one),” she said. “They don’t hand you the same Olympic gold medal if you win it again, so they better give me another belt.”

Harrison also joked that her role as team captain of American Top Team is almost as big of a challenge as preparing for fights themselves.

“It is a never-ending battle,” she said. “It is exhausting to be team captain. Not only am I team captain, but I am American Top Team’s fantasy football champion. I’m PFL champion. Honestly, I have a lot on my plate right now with that gym and just trying to make sure that everyone keeps it together.”

But joking aside, Harrison said that for all of the trash talk and drama fans see on social media, the reality of life inside the gym is very different.

“Honestly, everyone’s a professional,” she said. “You see these personalities, and you see a lot of people talking, and you see a lot of drama and stuff like that. But I’ll tell you one thing: It’s not like that inside the gym at all. So what you see is not reality when it comes to the gym.

“Everyone respects American Top Team too much and what we stand for and what we’re trying to accomplish as a team and a gym, and no one would ever cross that line and take it too far.”