Julia Budd admits it would be a bummer to miss out on a Kayla Harrison fight

PHOENIX — Julia Budd is making the move to the PFL after a championship run with Bellator.

The first and former women’s featherweight champion in Bellator history suffered a single defeat in her run with the promotion when facing Cris “Cyborg” Justino in January 2020. Budd (15-3) rebounded with two wins over Jessica Miele and Dayana Silva.

Moving forward, Budd will make the transition to the PFL 155-pound lightweight division currently helmed by undefeated Judo gold medalist, Kayla Harrison. However, that may not be the case come the 2022 season thus leaving Budd with the possibility of missing out on knocking off the 31-year old superstar.

“I think so,” Julia Budd told BJPenn.com about potentially missing out on a Harrison fight. “I joined the sport and do everything in my life to challenge myself and fight the best of the best. That’s what I do. That’s what I’m here for. So if that ever worked out that we were to fight, great. But obviously, it’s her journey, and if she leaves she leaves. But I’m there to fight everyone in the division no matter who they are.”

Before Julia Budd can think about Harrison, she’ll have to worry about Kaitlin Young on Oct. 27 at the 2021 PFL Championship.

“We fought on the same card in Invicta so she was fighting when I was in Invicta,” Budd said of her former matchmaker opponent. “So I’ve been around her, I’ve watched her fight. Her vs. [Gina] Carano is one of the ones a couple years before I entered martial arts, but when I watched that fight it was really exciting. I’ve known about her for a long, long time and I actually told my coaches on their August card when she ended up not fighting I said I guarantee that’s who I’m fighting in October.”