Kayla Harrison was destined to be great. She’s been a standout athlete since she was a child, but without work ethic, an unrelenting determination, and unwavering self belief, she wouldn’t have been a two-time Olympic gold medalist, or an undisputed UFC champion.
“This isn’t something that, it’s not like a built this overnight. I have had a village and a team around me supporting me since I was a young girl. I’ve been doing two-a-days since I was 12 years-old. This isn’t something I picked up a couple of years ago,” Harrison said on the Paramount UFC Crew YouTube channel.
“I’ve been on the mat since I was six year-old. I’ve been doing two-a-days since I was 12 years-old. I moved away from home when I was 16 to train for the Olympics. It’s instilled in me, and that discipline and that work ethic has been instilled in me from a young age. But also, the team behind me has been nothing but the best.”
Harrison captured the UFC bantamweight title last June, defeating former two-title champion Julianna Peña via submission at UFC 316. She puts her title on the line for the first time against the widely regarded G.O.A.T. and former teammate Amanda Nunes.
Harrison’s mixed marital arts career has come full circle. It was the opportunity to train with “The Lioness” that drew Harrison to train at America Top Team when making the transition from Judo to MMA.
“I trained at a bunch of different gyms. I went to American Top Team. I sparred Amanda my second day there. I had never had a fight before, and I was like, oh sh*t, I have to move here,” she said.
“I had never been bested like that with a woman. Sure, maybe guys like get the better of me, but I was like, oh, no, this is the place to be. I just believe if you want to be the best, you have to train with the best. At the time, I was in a totally another organization. I was 155 pounds. I was under contract for years and years and years.”
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At first, Harrison didn’t think she’d find herself across the octagon from Nunes, but as time wore on it became obvious that the two were on a collision course. Nunes left ATT with that being a factor.
“It just felt like a natural thing to want to be around her and learn from her and grow with her. It was never like, I never wanted to like challenger her, or like defeat her and like I’m going to prove to you that I’m better than you. It was just like, hey, this is a place of honor in my mind. Like, you’re the greatest. I want to someday be what you are,” Harrison said.
“I didn’t come over to MMA to like be second.”
