PFL 8- Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino; Hollywood, Florida:
Different day, same story; Kayla dominant once again. And Kayla Harrison isn’t even near her prime yet in MMA.
The 31-year old, two-time Olympic Gold Medal Judoka is now 11-0. After her opening round dismantling of New Zealander Genah Fabian, she has 9 finishes, 7 of which are in the first-round.
In the battle of two southpaws it was Harrison taking the center of the cage with Fabian circling her. Both were being patient, but Harrison methodically angled Fabian to the cage. When she saw the opening she rushed in pressing Fabian to the fence, slowly chipping away at her. Harrison was then able to get a takedown and fall right into side control.
There she did what Harrison always does. Ground and pound her opponent while also looking for submissions. Once she got into mount the lefts and rights reigned down like an oil drill. Much to the delight of her teammate and UFC double-champ Amanda Nunes sitting there watching her. Referee Andrew Glenn saw more than enough with Fabian covering up at the 4:01 mark.
ITS OVER! Kayla Harrison is heading back to the #PFLChampionship!#PFLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/0TYzpC53M2
— PFL (@PFLMMA) August 20, 2021
Kayla Dominant Once Again
Harrison faced an interesting challenge here. Fabian’s a muay-thai champion and had an impressive eight-inch reach advantage. But when someone is on their back, or flattened out; size doesn’t matter. The win for the -4000 favorite sets up an October 27th final against Taylor Guardado, who took a split decision win over replacement Mariana Morais when number one seed Larissa Pacheco missed weight. Fabian’s loss ends a three-fight win streak.
In leaving no doubt about her dominance, Harrison finished with 66 total strikes to 0, 56 of which came on the mat. In the men’s heavyweight division, the finals brings a rematch of two fighters with mega-bombs in their hands, Ante Delija and Bruno Cappelozza.
Kayla Dominant Once Again, But Is It An End For Harrison In The PFL
Going back to when the organization first signed her as a brand ambassador (while it was the WSOF), she made it clear how anti-weight cutting she was. And it’s something Harrison has maintained. But on October 28th, the day after the finals her contract is up. She’s playing at least on mic, a bit more of a heel role than she used to. And she’s said if the PFL wants to keep her, bring in talent, and make it worth her while.
Harrison got a taste of action away from the PFL, taking a fight with INVICTA. And the ability to use elbows put a grin on her face. But that was at 145, 10-pounds less than she normally fights at. She’s had a back-and-forth with Dana White, and Scott Coker said he’d be interested.
While name talent, and more eyes would be the UFC; they continuously fumbled away the opportunity to build a 145-pound women’s division. Bellator has a thriving one, with a verbal rival in Cyborg as champion. Especially since she kept saying she wanted to be the one to dethrone her first. But was beaten well out by Nunes. So a Bellator contract could start out with a title shot off the bat.
