As UFC fans await the announcement of the main event for UFC 300, the promotion's president Dana White announced another fight for the April 13 event that is sure to turn the heads of MMA fans.
Two legends of the women's combat sports world will collide as former Olympic and Professional Fighters League champion Kayla Harrison faces former UFC champion Holly Holm. The bout will take place at 135 pounds in the UFC's women's bantamweight division.
Arguably bigger news than the fight itself is the UFC's signing of Harrison. The 33-year-old is 16-1 in her professional MMA career and is a two-time PFL women's lightweight champion.
Her only loss was against Larissa Pacheco, who defeated Harrison by a unanimous decision for the belt in November 2022. Ironically, Pacheco's last loss came at the hands of Harrison in 2019, the first time Harrison claimed a PFL title.
Perhaps Harrison's biggest accomplishment to date is her two gold medals earned by winning judo events in the Olympics. She won them consecutively at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Games, becoming the first American to win Olympic gold in judo.
The move down to 135 has long been a question for Harrison, who fought at 155 pounds during her time with the PFL. The UFC doesn’t have a lightweight division for women nor does it have a 145-pound weight class anymore, which made a move to the promotion for Harrison tricky.
Harrison's team has been testing her weight cutting and believes now is the time for her to join the top promotion in professional MMA.
Holm gets another shot
Kayla Harrison will take the spotlight in this bout, but Holly Holm deserves some credit for taking the fight. At 42, this is likely Holm's last chance at making another run at a UFC title. A win over Harrison should secure a title fight for the seasoned UFC veteran.
Holm's career didn’t exactly take off the way she might've envisioned after her shocking upset win over Ronda Rousey to claim the UFC women's bantamweight title in 2015. She is 5-6 with one no-contest since that win, her lone victory in five UFC title fights.
Holm's last fight was a loss switched to a no-contest against Mayra Bueno Silva last July. She's won three of her last five fights, though she hasn’t had a non-decision win since knocking out Bethe Correia in 2017.
Despite the record against them, Holm has fought virtually every big name in women's MMA history. A bout against Harrison further cements Holm's status as one of the toughest and fearless women's fighters in MMA history.
The winner of this fight could earn an immediate title shot. Newly crowned champion Raquel Pennington – who Holm defeated twice in 2015 and 2020 – is expected to have her first title defense against another former champion Julianna Pena. It is plausible that the winner of that match, which has yet to be officially announced, would fight the winner of Harrison-Holm.
Dana White continues to fill out the UFC 300 card and another highlight women's fight makes the event that much better. MMA fans are still clamoring for the main event though which should be announced soon given there is less than 12 weeks until UFC 300.
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