Kayla Harrison is coming to the UFC and will debut at UFC 300 in April.
UFC CEO Dana White announced that the promotion has signed the two-time Olympic gold medalist and Harrison will fight Holly Holm on April 13.
Breaking News: UFC has signed Kayla Harrison!#UFC300 Holly Holm vs Kayla Harrison pic.twitter.com/jQeLItwQmO
— danawhite (@danawhite) January 24, 2024
Harrison (16-1) represented the United States and won gold at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic games in Judo before transitioning to MMA.
She has won the PFL women’s lightweight championship twice and was a finalist in 2022 when she sustained the only pro loss of her career to Larissa Pacheco by unanimous decision. Harrison returned to action this past November and defeated Aspen Ladd by unanimous decision.
Holm (15-6, 1 NC) is a former UFC bantamweight champion, who defeated Ronda Rousey for the championship in November 2015 but lost the belt to Meisha Tate the following March.
In Holm’s last fight, she was submitted by Mayra Bueno Silva but was later ruled a no-contest due to Silva testing positive for ritalinic acid.
Dana White added that the fight will take place at bantamweight, which will be the first time Harrison has competed at that weight.
Here is the updated card for UFC 300 on April 13 in Las Vegas:
*BMF Championship: Justin Gaethje © vs. Max Holloway
*Strawweight Championship: Zhang Weili © vs. Yan Xiaonan
*Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan
*Jiří Procházka vs. Aleksandar Rakić
*Calvin Kattar vs. Aljamain Sterling
*Bo Nickal vs. Cody Brundage
*Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Cody Garbrandt
*Bobby Green vs. Jim Miller
*Kayla Harrison vs. Holly Holm
