Former PFL champion Kayla Harrison picked up her second octagon win with a decision win over Ketlen Vieira at UFC 307 last Saturday.
While the victory inched the former Olympian one step closer towards a UFC women’s bantamweight title shot, the road to get there was not easy. After years of competing at 155-pounds outside the UFC, Harrison has had to cut an additional 20-pounds to make 135.
“I need to take a little bit of time off just because of the weight cut and the process that it is for my body,” Harrison told TMZ.
“I’m just not built to weigh 135lb. Anytime I get under the 150s, it’s not pleasant.
“The first time [I fought in the UFC] was [the] fear of, like, ‘Can I do it?’
“This time it was fear of, like, ‘Oh God, I have to do it’. The anticipation. But I’m blessed. I have such a good team.”
Despite getting the win over Viera, it wasn’t Harrison’s best career performance, and she knows that.
“I don’t really like to make excuses,” Harrison told MMA Fighting. “I had to go to the hospital last week. There was blood in my urine. I had a really bad infection that started spreading. I was on antibiotics. I had blood in my urine. It was a bunch of stuff going on but it’s not an excuse. I have to be the best in the world on my worst day.”
The UFC was aware Harrison attended the hospital the week before her bout, but the fighter did not elaborate on what caused the problems until after the contest.
“After 12 weeks of eating like air and prayers, no, we were going to find a way [to fight] come hell or high water,” Harrison said. “Also, just everything that was on the line. Listen, I’m grateful that I got the win, and I was able to go out there and still get the ‘W,’ but other than that, I’m eager to get back to the gym. I have a lot of things that I want to improve on. I know this fight is really going to help me grow.
“Even outside of the cage. Some of the decisions I made, it’s going to be good for me. I ate too much I think after I weighed in. I was just so hungry, I think I overdid it. I felt kind of sick on Saturday, because I ate too much. I need to do a better job of staying disciplined even after I weigh in. I need to follow the game plan. There’s a lot of stuff I can improve on.”
