Kayla Harrison spent the first 17 fights of her career with the PFL, but her defection to the UFC led to a social media post on Saturday highlighting the only loss she’s ever suffered.

Just before Harrison defeated Ketlen Vieira at UFC 307, the PFL posted a short video detailing her decision loss to Larissa Pacheco back in 2022 while also promoting its upcoming pay-per-view event on Oct. 19 in Saudi Arabia. While UFC CEO Dana White didn’t actually see PFL’s post about Harrison, he didn’t seem all that surprised by the maneuver.

“I think when you’re losing as much money as they are, f*cking go for it,” White said at the UFC 307 post-fight press conference. “F*cking throw the kitchen sink at it.”

White has rarely held his tongue when discussing the PFL but especially when the upstart promotion decides to take aim at the UFC.

Another comment that White jumped on when addressing the PFL was a recent remark from co-founder Donn Davis when he stated that the organization was spending more money on the upcoming PPV headlined by Francis Ngannou than the UFC spent producing the recent UFC 306 card at Sphere in Las Vegas.

White famously documented the high cost to put on a show there with expenditures reaching more than $20 million by the time it was all said and done.

“This guy [Donn Davis] just came out recently and said ‘you know we’re going to spend more money than they did on the Sphere.’ That sounds f*cking brilliant,” White said. “How many tickets are you going to sell? They’re not very bright.”

Of course there’s no doubt that the UFC remains the biggest promotion in all of MMA but White couldn’t help himself when pointing out the financial shortcomings of his competitors.

That’s why he wasn’t all that surprised by the move from PFL on Saturday when it came to taking aim at a former star in Harrison, who now calls the UFC home.

“Listen, it’s all fair,” White said. “They’re drowning. They suck. They’re not good at what they do. I guess you would just keep trying anything you can to make something stick. All good.”

SALT LAKE CITY – Over the past three years, Alex Pereira has been one of the most active fighters on the promotion’s roster.

He’s also become one of combat sports’ biggest stars, and it’s quite possible his frequent competition has something to do with that. But even “Poatan” has his limits, as he found out during an adversity-filled UFC 307 camp.

From injuries to travel issues, various levels of uncertainty arose as he prepared for Saturday’s fight vs. Khalil Rountree at Delta Center.

Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) didn’t reveal any of the issues until after he defeated Rountree (14-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) with a brutal and bloodying Round 4 barrage.

“The fight was really tough but only my team knows how tough this camp really was,” Pereira told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. “I went through a lot of stuff that nobody really knows about. I was in Brazil about a month ago. I had some problems with my visa. I was going over to the consulate every single day, trying to see if my passport was ready to be picked up. Finally, I made it back to the U.S. I spent about a week in Connecticut and have been here for three weeks. In the meantime, I was on antibiotics. I had a fever. I had a bad throat. A lot of things happened. Also going back, when I was in Brazil, I hurt my rib. It was an injury I had about a year ago and it came back. So that was also something I was dealing with.”

“When I came here, my throat was still bad. I went to the doctor and had another round of antibiotics. I even recorded a video at the time. I said in the video I would show it if I won. So we can put that out at some point. But I went through a lot. Also, the ligament in my toe that was hurt for UFC 300, that came back. So there were a lot of things I went through in this camp and it was a tough fight, but it was a tough lead up to this fight and I actually feel really proud of myself in this moment.”

A lack of rest between fights may have contributed to the string of injuries, illness, and mental struggles, Pereira admitted. Saturday’s fight was his tenth in the UFC in just under three years’ time.

For that reason, Pereira may take a rare break after this fight. He doesn’t want his “chama” to burn out. But does the training truly ever stop? Of course not.

“I think there is a limit,” Pereira sad. “I want to push myself as much as I can. I’m 37 and I want to take advantage of time. But I do need to take a break. I have some commitments in Mexico and Korea and Malta. I’m going to go hang out with Jorge (Guimarães) in Bali, my manager. We’re going to take Ed (Soares). I need to take some time off, but I’m going to be training.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

Julianna Peña and Kayla Harrison both took care of business at UFC 307. But don’t assume that means their title fight is set in stone.

“The Venezuelan Vixen” recaptured the bantamweight title Saturday at UFC 307, with a close split-decision win over Raquel Pennington in the co-main event. Following her victory, Peña used her mic time to call for a trilogy bout with Amanda Nunes, not Harrison, the two-time Olympic champion and former PFL star who defeated Ketlen Vieira earlier in the evening.

The callout shouldn’t be all that surprising given that Peña was the only woman to defeat Nunes during the former two-division champion’s legendary run from 2015-2023, and even less so given how lightly Peña and her coaches regard Harrison.

“We’re not impressed,” Peña said of Harrison. “She said she was going to put an elbow through her skull and do all this damage. [Vieira] didn’t have a scratch on her, it was boring, and she didn’t do anything that jumped off the page like, ‘Oooh, The Boogeyman.’ You know what I mean? So I was definitely—especially with hearing from my team—not impressed.”

Peña admitted she was relying mostly on her coaches’ appraisal of Harrison as she was focused primarily on preparing for her own fight, but she was comfortable comparing Harrison to former UFC star Ronda Rousey. Harrison’s former Team USA judo teammate was a dominant force in the bantamweight division before bowing out of competition with consecutive losses Holly Holm and Nunes.

Harrison had to work hard to earn a decision over Vieira, and Peña believes that’s due to limitations in Harrison’s game.

“I definitely think that at some point or another, like Ronda, when you figure out the one-trick pony of being able to stuff a takedown, you realize that the fight is more competitive and more even than people want to give it credit for,” Peña said. “So I think once you stuff the takedown, you realize that you’re actually in a tougher fight than you thought you were, and I think that that’s kind of what played into her head tonight.”

Peña now continues her hunt for a third fight with Nunes, arguably the greatest woman to ever compete in MMA. The two competed in a pair of memorable bouts at UFC 269 and UFC 277, with Peña scoring a shocking upset in the first title fight and Nunes dominating the rematch to become champion again.

The rivals were scheduled to fight a third time at UFC 289 in June 2023, but Peña was forced to withdraw due to a rib injury and Nunes instead fought replacement Irene Aldana. After a lopsided decision win, Nunes announced her retirement from MMA.

“At the end of the day, when I saw Amanda retire that day in Canada, I was sitting cageside and I was booing and it was because I didn’t believe that she was truly done,” Peña said. “Then you hear Dana White saying, ‘I think she retired too early.’ Then you watch her and I feel like she’s just twiddling her thumbs wondering, ‘What is my identity? What am I doing? I’m bored. Who am I if I’m not fighting in the UFC?’ So there’s an air that I feel that she feels like she misses the sport, that she’s looking to find something that’s going to make her want to come back.

“Kayla never mentioned her name when she beat Holly Holm, and she sure is not mentioning her name now. None of the other girls were mentioning Amanda’s name that they considered the greatest of all-time, yet I was, and I never shied away from that, and I still am because I truly do not believe that she’s done. I think she retired too early. I think that she’s looking for something to do and that for me is the biggest fight in mixed martial arts history because we’re 1-1. My fight against her the first time was so dominant I made her tap; our second fight, I ran out of time, I lost a decision handily, fine, no problem, but it would be nice to put it to bed once and for all, and get that trilogy fight that I feel that she ran away from.”

To Harrison’s credit, she has called for a potential fight with Nunes on a number of occasions, despite the fact that they once trained together. However, on Saturday, Harrison only had one goal in mind, warning whoever won the co-main event, “Ladies, enjoy it while you can because the queen is home and she’s coming for that f*cking gold.”

Should Peña’s callout of Nunes fall flat, she welcomes the Harrison fight.

“If Amanda cowers away again, and does not come back and fight me, then yes, you’re absolutely right, Kayla brings a lot of eyeballs and a lot of attention to the sport, and I actually love that,” Peña said.

SALT LAKE CITY – Julianna Pena is determined to settle the score with Amanda Nunes.

Despite Nunes being retired, Peña (12-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) is still holding out hope for a third fight between the two, especially after her latest showing in the octagon. Peña recaptured the UFC women’s bantamweight title Saturday by outpointing Raquel Pennington (16-9 MMA, 13-5 UFC) in a split decision in the co-main event of UFC 307.

Peña hopes her championship win is enough to lure back Nunes from retirement, that way they can break their 1-1 tie and settle the score to their rivarly.

“When I saw Amanda retire that day, I was sitting cageside, and I was booing because I didn’t believe she was truly done,” Peña said at the UFC 307 post-fight interview. “You hear Dana White saying that he thinks she retired too early, and then you watch her and I think she’s just twiddling her thumbs and saying, ‘What am I doing? I’m bored. Who am I if I’m not fighting in the UFC?’

“There’s an air that I feel that she’s missing this sport and trying to find something to make her want to come back. … I truly do not believe she’s done. She retired too early. I think that she’s looking for something to do.”

Apart from Nunes expressing interest in potentially fighting again, Peña believes a third fight between the two would be the biggest fight in the history of women’s MMA.

“That, to me, is the biggest fight in women’s mixed martial arts history because we’re 1-1,” Peña said. “My fight against her was so dominant, I made her tap. Our second time, I ran out of time. I lost a decision handily – fine. No problem. But it would be nice to put it to bed once and for all and get that trilogy fight that she ran away from.”

There’s no guarantee Nunes would be interested in a return. But if that is the case, Peña is fine defending her title against Kayla Harrsion – who also fought at UFC 307 and beat Ketlen Vieira.

“If Amanda cowards away and doesn’t come back and fight me, then yes, you’re absolutely right: Kayla brings a lot of eyeballs and attention to the sport, and I love that.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

Alex Pereira can see why Jamahal Hill might be feeling a little sleepy these days.

He still hasn’t recovered from their first fight.

Hill was in attendance at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City on Saturday to watch Pereira’s latest title defense and in an attempt to troll Pereira following the light heavyweight champion’s incredible win over Khalil Rountree Jr., Hill was caught on camera reacting with a mocking yawn.

Not a bad gag by Hill, considering his long history with Pereira and the fact that he’s still sidelined as he recovers from an injury. There’s only one problem: Pereira has already proven he’s the better man in the cage, having flattened Hill just six months ago.

“Maybe he just woke up from UFC 300,” Pereira said when asked about Hill at the UFC 307 post-fight press conference.”

Hill, a former light heavyweight champion, was actually supposed to fight Rountree at UFC 303, but Rountree was forced off of that event after testing positive for a banned substance (resulting in a suspension that was resolved by the time Rountree was set to fight at UFC 307), and Hill subsequently pulled out with an injury. That sequence of events resulted in Rountree being booked to fight Pereira instead.

The good news for Hill is that it sounds like Pereira is planning to stick around at 205 pounds for the near future, so if Hill can return and string together a win or two, there might just be a rematch in their future.