John McCarthy and Josh Thomson weigh in on Kayla Harrison’s decision to sign with UFC: “I think she went where the easier fights are”

John McCarthy and Josh Thomson believe Kayla Harrison signed with the UFC to go after easier fights.

Earlier this week, UFC CEO Dana White announced the promotion has signed Harrison and she will debut at UFC 300 against Holly Holm. It was a shocking announcement and former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson was disappointed with the signing.

According to Thomson, he believes Harrison signed with the UFC to go after easier fights than what was available at PFL.

“The talk that Amanda Nunes may come back is the biggest fight they can make in the 135lbs division. This picture is her standing next to Dustin Poirier, at American Top Team as of yesterday, I think that she looks like she already started her weight cut. I think she had a good idea she was going to make this weight cut for the last probably two or three months, smart on her part to go where she wanted to go, I think she went where the easier fights are,” Thomson said of Kayla Harrison on his Weighing In podcast.

Of course, the fight many fans wanted to see was Kayla Harrison vs. Cris Cyborg but that won’t happen now. However, there are still some big fights for Harrison in the UFC, but John McCarthy seems to agree with his co-host.

“I don’t blame her for going to the UFC, I don’t blame her for saying how I want to be part of that organization, it’s a phenomenal organization, I understand why she feels like this is a good move for me. It’s just after all the talk it’s all about the competition, no it’s not,” McCarthy said.

In Kayla Harrison’s first fight in the UFC, she will fight Holly Holm who is a former champion, and will be a tough test for her. But, Harrison opened as a massive betting favorite, so the oddsmakers seem to think it will be an easy fight for the former PFL lightweight champion.

Kayla Harrison is currently 16-1 as a pro and coming off a decision win over Aspen Ladd. Before that, she suffered a stunning decision loss to Larissa Pacheco in the 2022 women’s lightweight finals after defeating the Brazilian twice before.