"What a guy" - Fans react to PFL founder Donn Davis' response to Kayla Harrison ultimately joining the UFC 

Kayla Harrison recently stunned the fight world by signing with the UFC. Donn Davis, founder of the PFL, where Harrison previously competed, had a classy response to the news. When asked by renowned MMA journalist Ariel Helwani for his thoughts, the PFL founder was respectful.

Harrison has frequently spoken about her desire to prove that she is the world's best female fighter and often drew comparisons to the likes of Amanda Nunes and Ronda Rousey, a fellow judoka. When faced with the prospect of one of his major stars wanting to sign with the UFC, Davis was not combative.

His diplomatic response to her wishes earned praise from the MMA fandom on X (formerly Twitter). One fan even claimed that he could never imagine the UFC respecting their own stars' wishes in a similar manner. They wrote:

"PFL is a world class organization. Can't imagine the UFC would EVER do that to a star lmao"

Another fan praised Davis' conduct:

"Wow that's impressive."

This was echoed by yet another comment, which read:

"What a guy"

Several fans even felt that Davis was deserving of respect for how he handled the situation, and expressed their respect for the PFL Chairman. One user said:

"Respect do Donn."

A collage of fan reactions can be seen below:

Fan reactions to Donn Davis allowing Kayla Harrison to sign with the UFC

Now, the two-time Olympic judo gold medalist will take on former UFC women's bantamweight champion Holly Holm at UFC 300. Fans were left jaw-dropped by the news that the matchup would be contested at 135 pounds, which is a weight class that many thought Kayla Harrison would never be able to cut down to.

She previously competed in the women's lightweight division in the PFL, so fans expected a featherweight debut were she to ever migrate to the UFC. Unfortunately, the promotion's women's featherweight division is now defunct, so her options were limited to 135 pounds.

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Who has Kayla Harrison lost to?

For most of her career, Kayla Harrison drew comparisons to Ronda Rousey for two key reasons - both women were Americans who won Olympic medals in judo and boasted unbeaten records in MMA. Unfortunately, neither woman was able to maintain their undefeated status.

After winning 15 consecutive fights, Harrison, who reigned as the PFL women's lightweight champion, took on Larissa Pacheco for the third time. Their first two bouts ended with a decisive victory in Harrison's favor. The trilogy, however, saw the Brazilian score a stunning upset via unanimous decision.

It handed Harrison her first-ever MMA loss. The Olympian returned nearly a full year later to face ex-UFC women's bantamweight Aspen Ladd and ended up beating her by unanimous decision.