There's a very good possibility Kayla Harrison will be a bust

[Trabaho]

I never watched her fight, but where there's smoke there's fire. Obviously she's very good and this is a upgrade for 300.

 

[SaltedVinegarfootstomps]

Holm will probably win the third by virtue of Kayla gassing, after getting laid on for the first two.

 

[ChickenBrother]

Rather like Cyborg being blown up and defeatng cans and 125 and 135 lbs. women who needed a pay day. People are bashing Harrison but other than a few fights Cyborg's career has been cheating to beat up smaller women. She has only fought six women who have not fought lighter than 145, and three of those had zero wins.

I think Harrison and Cyborg are about the same size but FWIW I've never been a fan of Cyborg. Her 7 pound bikini scale tampering incident, positive PED test and her whole demeanor of beating up smaller girls and acting like they need to come to her when she and everyone else knows damn well that 135 lbs is the heaviest WMMA weight class that means anything. To her credit, beating Carano, Coenen, Evinger and Holm are good feathers in her cap although she mostly beat up undersized cans.

I'm honestly split on how I think Harrison will look at 135. Her resume is even weaker than Cyborg's in properly-sized opponents but she's always acknowledged she would have to come down for big fights - although she's said 145 was the lowest she would go. Clearly she had Cyborg and Nunes in mind. Agreeing to come down to 135 is a gutsy move on her part and something Cyborg was never willing to do. I don't have a strong opinion either way but from what I've seen, she comes off pretty grounded, humble and hungry, all of which makes her easier to root for than Cyborg.

 

[welcometohavoc]

Did Kayla become wildly overrated beating low-level fighters? Obviously. But WBW is full of low-level fighters. So if she can actually make the weight, don't be surprised if she gets the belt. A very favorable path has already been laid out for her to become champion: beating 42-year-old Holly and the Pennington-Pena winner. That's not exactly a murderer's row.

Now if Nunes comes back and has anything left in the tank, she'd flatline Kayla.

WBW is absolutely full of low level fighters, however, Holly Holm is not one of them

 

[chiefwiggum]

Maybe with the weight cut. She excels at something so that makes her better than 99% of wmmaers

 

[Eater of Souls]

I think Harrison and Cyborg are about the same size but FWIW I've never been a fan of Cyborg. Her 7 pound bikini scale tampering incident, positive PED test and her whole demeanor of beating up smaller girls and acting like they need to come to her when she and everyone else knows damn well that 135 lbs is the heaviest WMMA weight class that means anything. To her credit, beating Carano, Coenen, Evinger and Holm are good feathers in her cap although she mostly beat up undersized cans.

I'm honestly split on how I think Harrison will look at 135. Her resume is even weaker than Cyborg's in properly-sized opponents but she's always acknowledged she would have to come down for big fights - although she's said 145 was the lowest she would go. Clearly she had Cyborg and Nunes in mind. Agreeing to come down to 135 is a gutsy move on her part and something Cyborg was never willing to do. I don't have a strong opinion either way but from what I've seen, she comes off pretty grounded, humble and hungry, all of which makes her easier to root for than Cyborg.

I also have never been a fan of Cyborg. When your entire career is essentially cheating to beat up smaller women, well, there is nothing there to respect.

Seen a pic or two of Harrison and it seems like she is working hard on the physical side of things to make the final cut easier.

 

[ineverpost]

she is the female Ben Askren. Holm 10 years ago would probably Ronda her. These days she is probably too slow to back peddle ala Chuck Liddell.

I also don't think she's making 135. If they are actually doing this fight at 135 they will end up agreeing on a catch weight around fight week. They won't chance it by allowing her to weight in. If she misses by too much they will cancel the fight and it will mar the contest regardless.

 

[GIBLERTBAPTISTA]

Honestly I'm surprised there's still so much hype around her signing after she took an L, also a fight against Holm in 2024 doesn't exactly scream exciting.

 

[podsox]

I watched a lot of pfl. She dominated her fights but they boring as shit

 

[LostMyBlackBelt]

Ronda fought Holly on the feet, which was how she was exposed. Harrison needs to take this straight to the ground and keep it there. If she can't take Holly Holm down she is going to have a very long night.

Ronda could not take Holly down, Holly actually took Ronda down

 

[Vampire life]

That was a great fight thanks

 

[legcramp]

Her debut ish going to be very big ishapointment.

 

[abject]

...you do know she has two previous victories over Pacheco, right?

yes. yes i do

 

[Kryptt]

 

[wwkirk]

I agree 100% with Holly. It's weird they didn't just make it a FW fight which is more realistic since they've both fought at FW. And there would be less risk, as I personally suspect Kayla won't make it.

 

[Kryptt]

I agree 100% with Holly. It's weird they didn't just make it a FW fight which is more realistic since they've both fought at FW. And there would be less risk, as I personally suspect Kayla won't make it.

Yup - I'm with Holly here but I can see room for caveats (pay or title implications). She even stated why bother fighting (for her) if there is no path to the title.

It screams shit show due to the extreme weight cut but hey what do I know Kayla may make it easily and I'll eat crow. I don't have much expectation wise regarding this scrap but I do find it curious.

 

[laleggenda27]

WBW is absolutely full of low level fighters, however, Holly Holm is not one of them

Prime Holly wasn't one of them. 42-year-old Holly hasn't beaten a good fighter in more than 3 years and just got ninja-choked by Mayra. She absolutely is low-level at this age.

 

[Kryptt]

and just got ninja-choked by Mayra

To be fair Mayra was super focused that night...

 

[Lawrence]

I agree , she’s +320 right now , hard not to splash that a bit

Agree.

Holly's strongest skill these days is her clinch game. It may not be 100% judo-proof but I think it might be a HUGE drain on a 135 lb. Kayla even for one round.

If the 1st round goes like that and Holly survives, I think with her conditioning that whatever speed advantage Kayla may have had will be gone and a smart Holly could dictate the entire 2nd and 3rd rounds.

If Kayla has an amazing cut and walks into the cage with a full tank? Maybe a bloodbath.

 

[xhaydenx]

Agree.

Holly's strongest skill these days is her clinch game. It may not be 100% judo-proof but I think it might be a HUGE drain on a 135 lb. Kayla even for one round.

If the 1st round goes like that and Holly survives, I think with her conditioning that whatever speed advantage Kayla may have had will be gone and a smart Holly could dictate the entire 2nd and 3rd rounds.

If Kayla has an amazing cut and walks into the cage with a full tank? Maybe a bloodbath.

Yeh, it's a weird one to get a read on.

Prime Holly's clinch game was better than anyone's, far better than Kayla's has ever been. Her clinch grappling has always been better than her striking. The woman is made for it.

After the first round, the issue is both of them are likely going to slow. It used to be that Holly could hold anyone against the cage for 5 rounds without breaking a sweat if she wanted to, and her footwork with her striking was awesome for 5 rounds as well. But she doesn't have that ability anymore. She's too old and tires out now. I think it was against Ketlen she was flat footed by the 3rd wheras a few years ago a girl like Ketlen wouldn't have been competitive against her.