Kayla Harrison accuses PFL of treating fighters poorly: “The truth will come out”

Two-time PFL championship winner Kayla Harrison responded to founder Donn Davis’s ongoing attacks by shedding a small light on how the league treats its roster.

Harrison is fresh off a unanimous decision victory over Ketlen Vieira at UFC 307 earlier this month. She’s 2-0 since signing with the UFC earlier this year, including a finish of former titleholder Holly Holm at UFC 300.

Harrison’s move from the PFL Smartcage to the UFC Octagon was one of the most stunning storylines of the year. After five full years with the league, which included multiple world titles, the 34-year-old wanted to test herself against the UFC’s elite.

So far, so good for Harrison, as she entered the women’s UFC pound-for-pound rankings after passing her second Octagon test. She’s likely next for UFC bantamweight champion Julianna Peña in 2025.

Despite her various accolades in PFL and becoming one of the league’s superstars, Harrison has been controversially treated since parting ways. Davis has accused Harrison of ducking big-name fights with Cris Cyborg and others and was critical of Harrison’s free agency decision.

Kayla Harrison sheds a small light on the end of her PFL tenure

During a recent interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, Harrison said that while she won’t get into a verbal spat with the PFL, the league has a lot to answer for when it comes to fighter treatment.

“I don’t feel like I handled it poorly, I did the best I could do,” Harrison said. “And listen, I made it very clear that it wasn’t an easy decision for me to leave…I’ve grown to care for a lot of the people who worked there, so I have nothing to say about them. I do believe now more than ever that these people aren’t your friends, and this is a business through and through. And that was a good lesson for me…

“I’m not gonna go low, I’m not gonna talk s**t about them. Not going to air all the laundry I could air. About how they handle certain things and the way they have treated fighters. Not going to do that. Because I know that the truth will come out and I have nothing to be ashamed of.”

Harrison’s remarks come after the PFL had rocky negotiations with the likes of Douglas Lima, Gegard Mousasi, and others. Mousasi was released after critical comments about the league in a May interview with Ariel Helwani.

After winning multiple Olympic gold medals in Judo, Harrison became the face of the PFL in 2018. She won her first fifteen fights in the PFL before a loss to Larissa Pacheco at the 2022 PFL Championships.

Now a UFC star, Harrison’s PFL career will always be part of her legacy. But the divorce between the two sides continues to be mutually inamicable.