MIAMI – Kayla Harrison is on board, too.
Days after PFL founder and chairman Donn Davis issued a challenge to Bellator president Scott Coker in an effort to organize a cross-promoted fight between two of the top female fighters on the planet, his returning champion echoed those same sentiments.
“That’s my goal. I want to fight Cris Cyborg, you know?” Harrison told MMA Junkie while in attendance at Eagle FC 46. “I’m very willing to step in the cage with Cris Cyborg any day of the week, any time, anywhere, any weight. I don’t care if it’s cross-promotion, co-promotion, CBS, ABC, ESPN, friggin’ Disney, Showtime, ‘Looney Tunes,’ who cares? Nickelodeon at Night. I really don’t care. I just want to fight the best. She’s the best – one of the best. I think that’s the biggest compliment I can give to her. I don’t mean any disrespect, but I want to test myself, and she’s a great place to start.”
Cross-promotions don’t often happen in MMA, never mind among top organizations. While Coker has a history of venturing outside of promotional bounds to hold partnered shows with Glory Kickboxing and Japanese promotion RIZIN, the Bellator boss hasn’t seemed interested in opening up a conversation with the PFL brass.
When asked about Davis’ comments Saturday after Bellator 276, Coker responded, “I don’t know who that is, sorry.” While that may or may not be true, Coker has shot down offers from PFL CEO Peter Murray in the past. He pointed to difficulties with the promotion’s rival broadcast companies Showtime/CBS and ESPN/ABC.
To Harrison, though, she said she wants the best challenges possible. Cyborg, widely-regarded as either the No. 1 or No. 2 greatest female mixed martial artist of all time, certainly fits that billing.
“From my side, it’s game on,” Harrison said. “I think PFL is also very eager to make this fight happen. I don’t know about the other side. I know there’s a lot of side like, ‘If it makes money, it makes sense.’ She blocked me on Twitter, so I don’t know exactly. Yeah, I got blocked, dude. … I just ask my friends, ‘Hey, what did she say?’ Because she replied to something that I said, but I can’t see it. I can’t say anything because I can’t see it. But whatever, I don’t care.
“Honestly, Cris, if you’re watching this, I have a lot of respect for you. I love what you do for the community. I love how you give back. I love how you use your platform for good. I think you’re a model, a true legend of the sport, and I really, really, really want to fight you. So please give me the opportunity to help our sport grow, having women’s MMA grow, and let’s make headlines together.”
Harrison, 31, enters the 2022 PFL Season with the ink freshly dried on a multiyear agreement. The Olympic gold medalist competed in two PFL seasons to date – and won them both. The current Bellator women’s featherweight champion Cyborg is currently booked for April 23 in a title defense against Arlene Blencowe at Bellator 279 in Honolulu.
