Why is Kayla Harrison not in PFL 2023 season? Former champ reveals

Kayla Harrison has put forth a potential reason why the PFL has kept her out of its 2023 season. Harrison's most recent fight witnessed her suffer the first defeat of her professional MMA career.

The Judo great lost the 2022 PFL Women's Lightweight (155-pound) tournament final matchup to Larissa Pacheco via unanimous decision in November 2022. She'd previously defeated Pacheco twice, via unanimous decision in May 2019 and December 2019 respectively. However, their third fight saw Pacheco finally beat Harrison.

Heading into the PFL's 2023 season, which began on April 1, many believed Harrison would be a part of the season's Women's Featherweight (145-pound) tournament. Harrison herself has consistently expressed interest in fighting in the PFL women's featherweight division.

Regardless, in the latest edition of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, the 32-year-old explained that the PFL wouldn't let her partake in the 2023 season. Harrison said:

"Well, I wanted to be in the season... So, yes. And some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers. Of course, I wanted to be in the season. I'm not like, yeah -- The second the [2022] tournament was over, the second I lost, I said, 'Okay. I wrote down my goals.' I was like, '145-pound champ, gonna be in the [2023] season, avenge my loss.'" She continued, "I had all my key areas of focus. And that's not in the cards for me. That's not what they wanna do."

Watch Kayla Harrison's MMA Hour appearance below:

The grappling savant highlighted that she has just two fights left on her PFL contract. Furthermore, the consensus is that Harrison's long been the PFL's highest-paid fighter.

Alluding to the same, she suggested that perhaps the PFL wants to maximize its investment in her by having her fight at its pay-per-view events rather than letting her complete the fights on her contract in the PFL season events. Harrison said:

"I don't know [what the problem is]. I think that I get paid a lot of money. I think that they feel like that's not the best way to utilize me. And I think that they wanna put me on a pay-per-view card against a big name."

Watch Harrison discuss the topic in the video below:

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When Kayla Harrison reflected on her first MMA defeat against Larissa Pacheco

Before Kayla Harrison's loss against Larissa Pacheco in late 2022, many believed that the MMA stalwart could face Bellator women's featherweight champion Cris Cyborg in a high-profile featherweight super-fight next. It's currently unclear whether Cyborg will stay with Bellator MMA or sign with another promotion next.

Regardless, Harrison seems to be focused on avenging her loss against Larissa Pacheco first. Meanwhile, Pacheco is scheduled to face Julia Budd in the PFL 2023 season's PFL 2 event on April 7, 2023. The Pacheco-Budd matchup is part of the PFL Women's Featherweight Tournament bracket.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour late last year, Kayla Harrison reflected on her first MMA defeat. Harrison highlighted that anything can happen in a fight and that she wasn't shocked by the defeat.

Nevertheless, Kayla Harrison emphasized that she was disappointed and felt foolish. She acknowledged that she's known for her trash talk against her foes, something that backfires on a fighter when they lose. Vowing to make a triumphant comeback, Harrison said:

"I’m disappointed, heartbroken, sad, and also I feel foolish about all of it at the same time, and there’s a lot of layers to it. I’m sure you understand, but I’m not surprised. I understand that this is why we do what we do."

Watch Harrison's assessment below: