Kayla Harrison makes surprising admission ahead of UFC 316 title fight against Julianna Pena

Kayla Harrison has her first UFC title bout set, and she’s made quite the admission.

Harrison is scheduled to challenge Julianna Pena for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship at UFC 316. The championship clash will be held inside the Prudential Center in Newark on June 7. With a pro MMA record of 18-1 and UFC wins over Ketlen Vieira and Holly Holm, the general consensus is that Harrison has unquestionably earned her title opportunity.

The road to UFC gold hasn’t been easy for the former PFL champion, and that is especially true when it’s time to cut weight.

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Kayla Harrison Admits Cutting Weight is Torturous

Kayla Harrison had been fighting in the lightweight division before making her UFC debut. She’s had to cut down to 135 pounds to remain on the UFC roster and fight for gold. During an appearance on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” Harrison admitted that trying to make weight has been quite the obstacle ahead of her fights (via MMAMania).

“It’s torture,” Harrison told Ariel Helwani about cutting weight. “But everything I’ve wanted is on the other side of that torture. I feel like I become refined in the fire. It’s a very lonely process. It’s a much harder mental grind than I expected. First, it was this fear of, ‘Oh my gosh, can I do this?’ And now, it’s this fear of, ‘Oh my gosh, I know what I have to do in order to do this.’ It’s definitely not healthy. Don’t do this, kids. I do not recommend. My team is dialed in. It’s not easy but I believe in the end it will be worth it.”

Harrison successfully made weight for her fights against Holm and Vieira. The weight-cutting didn’t appear to hinder Harrison’s performances. She is hoping that everything goes according to plan ahead of the biggest fight of her pro MMA career.