Kayla Harrison gets 100% real on "torture" of weight-cutting ahead of UFC title fight

Modified Apr 08, 2025 04:45 GMT

Kayla Harrison touches on her gruelling weight cut process ahead of Julianna Peña title fight at UFC 316 [Image courtesy: Getty Images] — Kayla Harrison discusses grueling weight cut process. [Image courtesy: Getty Images]

Kayla Harrison recently opened up about her gruelling weight cuts. The 34-year-old is scheduled to face current UFC women's bantamweight champion Julianna Peña in her maiden title fight in the promotion.

Prior to entering the UFC, the two-time PFL world champion spent the majority of her career competing at 155 pounds. As such, many never expected her to join the UFC, which only has divisions up to 135 pounds for women. Nevertheless, Harrison made the necessary adjustments in her lifestyle and training to make a run for UFC gold.

So far, Harrison has beaten notable opponents like Ketlen Vieira and former champion Holly Holm, finishing the latter in dominant fashion. When she takes on Peña at UFC 316 in June, she'll have to make championship weight, unlike her last two octagon outings.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani, the No.2-ranked contender discussed her weight cut, saying:

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"It's torture [cutting weight]. But everything I've wanted is on the other side of that torture. I feel like I become refined in the fire. It's a very lonely process. It's a much harder mental grind than I expected."

She continued:

"First, it was this fear of, 'Oh my gosh. Can I do this?' And now, it's this fear of, 'Oh my gosh, I know what I have to do in order to do this.' It's definitely not healthy. Don't do this, kids. I do not recommend. My team is dialed in. It's not easy but I believe in the end it will be worth it."

Check out Kayla Harrison's comments below:

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Daniel Cormier critiques Kayla Harrison's previous performance ahead of Julianna Peña title fight

Former UFC double champion Daniel Cormier recently weighed in on the upcoming women's bantamweight title fight between Julianna Peña and Kayla Harrison.

'DC' claimed he wasn't impressed by the Olympian's previous performance against Ketlen Vieira at UFC 307. On his podcast Good Guy / Bad Guy, he said:

"That last fight that she fought against Ketlen, that didn't make me feel like she was gonna storm through Julianna. I think it's a crazy line. I thought Kayla looked a little bit nervous in the striking last time. When the takedowns didn't work like she wanted them to, she didn't seem to transition from striking to wrestling as effectively as I thought that she should."

Check out Daniel Cormier's comments below (17:00):

About the author

Sunil holds a Bachelor of Science degree in visual communication. He started his professional career in 2023 and has previously worked with FirstSportz and Levitate Studios, among other organizations.

Sunil was drawn to MMA by Conor McGregor, especially the Irishman’s crossover boxing bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2017. His favorite fighter is Jorge Masvidal for his wild and unorthodox approach.

Surprisingly, ‘The Notorious’ and ‘Gamebred’ do not find a place in his Mt. Rushmore, which includes Chuck Liddell, Anderson Silva, Alex Pereira, Daniel Cormier, and Khabib Nurmagomedov. He feels ONE Championship’s Rodtang Jitmuangnon has the ability to succeed in the UFC due to his power.

Sunil is of the opinion that the UFC is not doing enough to prevent eye pokes and does not mind soccer kicks in MMA.

In his free time, he likes to watch anime and films in general. He’s also a boxing historian, having gotten into the sport watching videos of fighters like Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran.

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Edited by C. Naik