Kayla Harrison is the first athlete from the United States to win a gold medal in Olympic judo. She’s a big deal. Back when Ronda Rousey was making waves as the first athlete from the U.S. to ever win a medal in Olympic judo, legend has it that Kayla was dominating Ronda in training. Granted, the 26-year-old competes in the 75kg division, whereas Ronda competed at 70kg (that’s 165 pounds for Kayla and 154 for Ronda), so there’s a size difference, but the fact remains — Kayla is damn good at judo. The best.
Naturally, everyone is wondering how Kayla would do in MMA if Ronda could have such a huge mark on the sport. Speaking to Yahoo Sports, Kayla seemed open to the idea but is reserved.
“I tried to picture myself in a cage beating the crap out of somebody,” Harrison said. “The fact that I wasn’t completely disgusted by it tells me I might want to do it.”
“Think of all the people that watch UFC,” Harrison said. “Think of all the people I could talk to about my foundation. There’s just a wider audience than there is for judo.
And yet, Yahoo Sports tapped some athletes close to Kayla, and they don’t see it happening.
Harrison and her agent have engaged in exploratory talks with the UFC, but those close to her are skeptical she’ll ever leave judo behind to try to follow in Rousey’s footsteps.
“I’m predicting she never will,” best friend and fellow judo Olympian Marti Malloy said.
“Never say never but I’ll believe it when I see it,” mother Jeannie Yazell added.
Kayla has also dealt with multiple injuries in her career, and you have to wonder how much she has left in the tank to start from the bottom in a growing pool of WMMA talent. Ronda Rousey started her MMA career at 24 years old. By the time Ronda was 26, she was already in the UFC and had defeated Liz Carmouche to become the first women’s UFC champion. Could that time make the difference?
And can Kayla even make the cut to 145 pounds, where the only true competition is Cris Cyborg, who herself has been in limbo due to not making it to 135, the moneyweight division for women’s MMA?
(Via Yahoo Sports)