Fighters » Kayla Harrison
Kayla Harrison is a highly accomplished American mixed martial artist and former judoka. She is the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion and a two-time Olympic gold medalist in Judo . The table below summarizes her most notable fights.
| Event | Date | Opponent | Result | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UFC 316 | Jun 2025 | Julianna Peña | Win (Submission) | Won the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship . |
| UFC 300 | Apr 2024 | Holly Holm | Win (Submission) | Victory over a former UFC champion and MMA legend . |
| PFL 2022 Championships | Nov 2022 | Larissa Pacheco | Loss (Decision) | First and only professional MMA loss; lost the PFL Lightweight title . |
| PFL 2021 Championships | Oct 2021 | Taylor Guardado | Win (Submission) | Won her second PFL Women’s Lightweight tournament and $1 million . |
| PFL 2019 Championships | Dec 2019 | Larissa Pacheco | Win (Decision) | Won her first PFL Women’s Lightweight tournament and $1 million . |
Kayla Harrison’s career trajectory
Kayla Harrison is a groundbreaking combat sports athlete. Before her MMA career, she was a world-class judoka, winning gold medals at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics in the 78 kg weight class . She remains the only American judoka to win an Olympic gold medal .
She transitioned to MMA in 2018 and quickly found success, primarily competing in the Professional Fighters League (PFL) where she became a two-time PFL Lightweight champion (2019, 2021) . She signed with the UFC and made her debut in 2024, eventually capturing the Bantamweight title in 2025.
