Kayla Harrison is thrilled that she can now use her elbows to deliver bigger damage to her opponents.
Harrison is now a part of the UFC roster after CEO Dana White confirmed her jump. The former PFL talent will be making her bantamweight debut against Holly Holm at the historic UFC 300 card in April. And for her, there are lots of thrilling details about her first fight. Aside from fighting under a new banner, the female fighter would be allowed to use her elbows in her fights.
In PFL, this prohibited to protect fighters from huge injuries, which could lead to long breaks and layoffs. In UFC, nonetheless, it is one of the freedom fighters have, even if it sometimes leads to bloody fights. Harrison wants that. And with “naturally sharp” elbows, Harrison couldn’t hide her excitement to finally unleash such a move inside the cage.
In an interview with New York Post’s Scott Fontana, the female fighter recalled the time she was allowed to use elbows in Invicta, leading to an incredibly gruesome injury to her opponent.
“Hell yeah! Now you’re speaking my language,” Harrison said. “Now that I am excited about… It totally changed the outcome and the flow of the (Invicta FC) fight.
“So I do think it was to my detriment that, for my entire career basically, I haven’t been able to utilize that,” Harrison continued. “And I’m really looking forward to doing so. I must have really, naturally sharp elbows.”
Holm will be the first UFC fighter to receive Harrison’s elbow in any case, but the new promotion talent knows the opponent wouldn’t be an easy one. Despite Harrison being certain about her goal to reach the top of the division soon, she admitted that Holm could be a threat that could derail the plan.
“There’s one last mountain to climb, and that’s UFC gold,” Harrison said in a recent interview with TMZ. “That’s what I’m coming for. That’s what my goal is. Holly Holm is a step to that. … I think that Holly is the toughest fight in the division for me. First of all, her boxing pedigree. Her record – she’s fought all of the best girls.
“She’s always in the mix, she’s always at the top, she’s been around the sport for a long time, she’s a super veteran, she knows what she’s doing, she’s a former champion, and she’s an MMA fighter. Her grappling has gotten a lot better. You know her footwork is top-notch. Her fight IQ is through the roof. She is f*cking good. She’s one of the greats.”
