Kayla Harrison challenges MMA fans to ‘be better’ ahead of 2021 PFL Finals

FORT LAUDERDALE — Kayla Harrison is as dominant of a force as anyone in MMA in 2021.

But with great success comes great detractors – or at least several in abundance. Beginning her run in June 2018 and now 11-0 in her professional MMA career, the Judo master has found the fans to be a lot more vocal than she’d experienced prior.

“Just these people with these opinions… I don’t understand this world that we live in where these people who have never dared to be great at anything in their lives have the audacity and the courage to comment on other people’s choices and decisions,” Harrison told BJPenn.com at Wednesday’s PFL 2021 Finals press conference. “And not even that, they just comment on their looks or they just say mean sh*t. I’m like dude, how? Why? What? Is this really – does that make you feel better? Does that make you feel like a better person to do stuff like that? I just can’t believe it. Twitter be wild, man. Nobody cared in Judo. MMA fans are… you can be better, MMA fans.”

Despite continually gaining experience in the cage, Kayla Harrison has also started getting in reps inside the professional wrestling ring. Well, with a recent appearance anyway – enough of a tease for spectators of All Elite Wrestling (AEW).

“I like wrestling fans!” Harrison said. “They flip you off when you’re the heel but then they’re like ‘Just kidding, I love you!’ you know? And I’m like, ‘I love you too!’

“It was really cool to see and to go when that [Chris] Jericho guy walked out and then they cut off his music and 20,000 people just sang his song to him. I was like, damn. That is love. I said this in another interview, but if you did that in an MMA crowd they would just be like, ‘WOO! WOO! WOO!’ So, I was impressed with the wrestling fans.”

The 2021 PFL season has seen the fighters competing without crowds for its entirety – that changes when closing things out with the finals on Oct. 27.

As she’s already done before, Kayla Harrison will once again headline the event in her lightweight title tilt opposite Taylor Guardado (3-1).

“I would throw an absolute sh*t fit if I wasn’t last. No, I’m just kidding,” Harrison joked. “It’s an honor for me. Obviously, this is a card of champions and every fight is a main event. Every fight is a title fight or a young up-and-coming fighter or a former champion. So it’s exciting for me, it’s an honor for me and I consider myself the face of PFL… for at least 28 more days. So I better be the main event. It’s my job to carry this flag.

“I have a lot of respect for [Guardado]. She’s been an underdog pretty much since the beginning of the season – kind of flying under the radar but found a way, persevered. I have a lot of respect for that. I have a lot of respect for her as a mom and training full-time being a fighter. Making the most of an opportunity that’s given to her, more power to her. I think it’s super badass and I look forward to sharing the cage with her.”