UFC star Kayla Harrison has asserted she is not like Ronda Rousey ahead of her title fight.
Harrison has the chance to win UFC gold for the first time when she attempts to dethrone Julianna Pena of her women’s bantamweight strap at UFC 316 on June 8.
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The former PFL fighter is 18-1 in professional MMA, having won two Olympic gold medals representing the United States in judo at London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016.
Ahead of her co-main event against Pena in New Jersey, Harrison sat down with ESPN MMA alongside her opponent to preview their imminent title clash.
During the interview, Pena asserted several times that she has ‘nothing to lose’ on the night as MMA fans have already counted her out.
She then sent a verbal blow in the direction of Harrison by claiming the challenger ‘ain’t Ronda Rousey’ and won’t take her out in 20 seconds.
Harrison agreed and said: “First of all, I’m not Ronda because Ronda couldn’t win an Olympic gold medal.
“Second of all, you are a great fighter, you’re tough, you’re hard … “
Pena interjected: “She beat you!”
And Harrison responded: “She doesn’t hold a candle to my career and it doesn’t matter because it’s not all about that.
Pena added: “Wasn’t it your manager that was literally saying you’re going to surpass all of Ronda’s accomplishments?
“You haven’t been able to do that yet.”
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Harrison concluded: “I know you’ve got nothing to lose, I know that you’re going to throw the kitchen sink at me because you have no idea how you’re going to beat me, and I’m going to put a hurting on you.”
Rousey won a bronze medal for judo representing the United States at the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing, China.
However, Harrison surpassed her with back-to-back gold medals in London and Brazil.
Harrison was also a roommate of fellow judoka Rousey from the age of 16, so there been a plethora of comparisons made between the admitted ‘frenemies’ throughout years.
Harrison is undefeated in Dana White’s promotion having defeated Holly Holm at UFC 300 in April 2024 on her debut, before securing a unanimous decision victory over Ketlen Vieira six months later.
She went 15-0 in her MMA career before losing to longtime rival Larissa Pacheco in November 2022.
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UFC 316 pay-per-view card
Two title fights at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey
Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley – Men’s bantamweight title fight
Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison – Women’s bantamweight title fight
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Joe Pyfer – Middleweight
Mario Bautista vs. Patchy Mix – Bantamweight
Vicente Luque vs. Kevin Holland – Welterweight
Pena, meanwhile, is a UFC veteran having made her debut in the promotion through The Ultimate Fighter in 2015.
She won her current strap by submitting Amanda Nunes at UFC 269 in December 2021, but dropped it to the Brazilian seven months later.
‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ was then sidelined from the sport for over two years after fracturing her ribs, and defeated former champion Raquel Pennington on her return to the sport at UFC 307.
