Kayla Harrison knows to be the best you have to beat the best, and she says that’s what she’s willing to do.
2019 PFL women’s lightweight champion Harrison (9-0) continued to run through competition when she made quick work of Mariana Morais (16-11) with an 83-second TKO at 2021 PFL 3 on Thursday.
As she continues to dominate her competition, questions of a potential fight with UFC dual-champ Amanda Nunes (21-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) keep surfacing. Harrison is currently focused on her PFL season, but the two-time Olympic gold medalist eventually wants to lock horns with the consensus greatest female fighter of all-time.
“My goal is to be the greatest of all-time,” Harrison following her win. “She is currently the greatest of all-time. The biggest compliment I could give to Amanda is I hope to fight her one day. That’s the best compliment I could give her because that means she’s the GOAT. She’s what we’re all chasing.
“Having said that, my goal is to be PFL champion right now. I have very tough opponents in front of me. It’s no easy feat to complete a season. It’s a lot of fights back-to-back, quick turnarounds. It’s hard on your body. It’s hard on your mind. So I’m mentally preparing for that, and I take it one fight at a time. But the goal is to be the greatest of all-time, so whoever I have to fight to do that, that’s what I want to do.”
Harrison was a massive betting favorite, so it was no surprise that she was able to make her latest win look easy. But Harrison explains that Morais’ surprising strategy lent right into her world, which allowed her to get such a quick finish.
“I actually was surprised she kind of tried to throw me,” Harrison said. “It was a short fight, but in the first 90 seconds, she went for a head-and-arm toss or something, and I was like, ‘Unbelievable.’ I was in shock, so that’s when I had to take her down.”
Kayla Harrison admits she’s chasing Amanda Nunes: ‘My goal is to be the greatest of all-time’
