Kayla Harrison isn’t the main event at UFC 307, but she definitely took center stage during a couple of heated exchanges during the pre-fight press conference on Thursday.
It was almost expected that the two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo would get drawn into a war of words with Julianna Pena after they’ve gone back-and-forth through interviews for the better part of the past year. While Harrison is facing Ketlen Vieira on Saturday, and Pena goes for gold against Raquel Pennington, both fighters rarely escape an interview without being asked about a potential fight between them.
Still, Harrison attempted to maintain her declaration that it doesn’t matter who has the belt after UFC 307 because she’s coming for them.
“Fill in the blank,” Harrison said about her choice of opponents. “It doesn’t matter. It’s only a matter of time. I’m the uncrowned queen. First Saturday night, I smash Ketlen and then I come for my title. Enjoy it while you can ladies.”
Of course, Harrison admitted that she would gladly drive an elbow through Pena’s head for free, which prompted a response from the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion.
“I know violence,” Pena said. “Kayla just got here to the scene. As far as I’m concerned, the last time she faced a Brazilian, she came running into the UFC.”
While Pena wanted to bring up Harrison’s only career loss in a decision to Larissa Pacheco in the PFL, the 34-year-old bantamweight quickly reminded her counterpart that she’s been far more active with a lot less time in the sport.
“I have more finishes than Julianna has wins,” Harrison said. “I don’t know what she’s talking about. She better slow down.
“[I] just got here? I won two Olympic gold medals. You started your career in 2009 and you’re 10-5. I started in 2018 and I’m 17-1.”
That number didn’t seem to impress Pena.
“It’s easy to be 17-1 when you’re fighting freaking tomato cans,” Pena said.
Perhaps the more awkward war of words came from Harrison’s interaction with Vieira, who comes into the fight as one of the biggest underdogs on the entire card.
Usually soft spoken, particularly because she’s typically talking through a translator, Vieira got rather animated on Thursday while taking personal shots and low blows at Harrison.
“Listen, it’s going to be really hard looking at your ugly face for me,” Vieira said. “It’s going to be OK when you look in the mirror.”
The comment on her appearance was obviously unexpected but Harrison reminded Vieira “my mom thinks I’m pretty … my kids think I’m pretty, too,” before capping that off by calling her opponent an “asshole.”
Vieira’s frustration towards Harrison stems from the attention the former two-time PFL champion has received since signing with the UFC as a high-profile free agent. In her first appearance with the promotion, Harrison got a spot on the coveted UFC 300 card where she dismantled former champion Holly Holm for a submission win inside two rounds.
Now Harrison is competing in a de facto No. 1 contenders bout while awaiting the chance to face either Pennington or Pena next.
That just didn’t seem right to Vieira, who has been grinding her way through the women’s bantamweight division in the UFC for the past eight years.
“I know you have a great history in judo and I respect that but for you to skip the line, I feel that’s a little too much,” Vieira said. “We work so hard for this. Think about myself, since 2018, first I beat Sara McMann and I thought I have a shot at the title. Then I go out there and beat Cat Zingano, the girl that actually beat Amanda Nunes, I thought I had a shot at the title. Then I beat two former champions and I thought I’m going to have a shot at the title.
“All of a sudden you come out here and you skip the line. Actually I had a loss then and I had a loss to Raquel Pennington, somebody active, the current champion, somebody I admire a lot and someone I mirror myself and my game and the way I behave myself [after]. Because I think coming here and actually being a champion is more than just coming here and saying a lot of bologna.”
For all the talk about her skipping the line or getting something she doesn’t deserve, Harrison reminded everybody on stage that she’s ready for all challenges and invites them to try and shut her up.
“This is the difference between me and all of these girls,” Harrison said. “I come here and they complain ‘she skipped the line, she’s on steroids, it’s not fair, she shouldn’t do this, she shouldn’t do that.’ If this was my division, and I was the champion, I would say come the f*ck over and I’ll show you who’s champion.”
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