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Kayla Harrison isn’t the primary occasion at UFC 307, however she undoubtedly took heart stage throughout a few heated exchanges through the pre-fight press convention on Thursday.
It was virtually anticipated that the two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo would get drawn right into a confrontation with Julianna Pena after they’ve gone back-and-forth by means of interviews for the higher a part of the previous 12 months. Whereas Harrison is going through Ketlen Vieira on Saturday, and Pena goes for gold in opposition to Raquel Pennington, each fighters not often escape an interview with out being requested a few potential struggle between them.
Nonetheless, Harrison tried to take care of her declaration that it doesn’t matter who has the belt after UFC 307 as a result of she’s coming for them.
“Fill within the clean,” Harrison stated about her selection of opponents. “It doesn’t matter. It’s solely a matter of time. I’m the uncrowned queen. First Saturday evening, I smash Ketlen after which I come for my title. Take pleasure in it when you can women.”
In fact, Harrison admitted that she would gladly drive an elbow by means of Pena’s head without cost, which prompted a response from the previous UFC girls’s bantamweight champion.
“I do know violence,” Pena stated. “Kayla simply obtained right here to the scene. So far as I’m involved, the final time she confronted a Brazilian, she got here operating into the UFC.”
Whereas Pena wished to deliver up Harrison’s solely profession loss in a call to Larissa Pacheco within the PFL, the 34-year-old bantamweight shortly reminded her counterpart that she’s been way more lively with quite a bit much less time within the sport.
“I’ve extra finishes than Julianna has wins,” Harrison stated. “I don’t know what she’s speaking about. She higher decelerate.
“[I] simply obtained right here? I received two Olympic gold medals. You began your profession in 2009 and also you’re 10-5. I began in 2018 and I’m 17-1.”
That quantity didn’t appear to impress Pena.
“It’s straightforward to be 17-1 whenever you’re preventing freaking tomato cans,” Pena stated.
Maybe the extra awkward confrontation got here from Harrison’s interplay with Vieira, who comes into the struggle as one of many largest underdogs on the complete card.
Normally gentle spoken, significantly as a result of she’s sometimes speaking by means of a translator, Vieira obtained reasonably animated on Thursday whereas taking private photographs and low blows at Harrison.
“Hear, it’s going to be actually laborious taking a look at your ugly face for me,” Vieira stated. “It’s going to be OK whenever you look within the mirror.”
The touch upon her look was clearly sudden however Harrison reminded Vieira “my mother thinks I’m fairly … my youngsters suppose I’m fairly, too,” earlier than capping that off by calling her opponent an “asshole.”
Vieira’s frustration in direction of Harrison stems from the eye the previous two-time PFL champion has obtained since signing with the UFC as a high-profile free agent. In her first look with the promotion, Harrison obtained a spot on the coveted UFC 300 card the place she dismantled former champion Holly Holm for a submission win inside two rounds.
Now Harrison is competing in a de facto No. 1 contenders bout whereas awaiting the prospect to face both Pennington or Pena subsequent.
That simply didn’t appear proper to Vieira, who has been grinding her means by means of the ladies’s bantamweight division within the UFC for the previous eight years.
“I do know you’ve gotten an incredible historical past in judo and I respect that however so that you can skip the road, I really feel that’s a bit of an excessive amount of,” Vieira stated. “We work so laborious for this. Take into consideration myself, since 2018, first I beat Sara McMann and I assumed I’ve a shot on the title. Then I am going on the market and beat Cat Zingano, the lady that really beat Amanda Nunes, I assumed I had a shot on the title. Then I beat two former champions and I assumed I’m going to have a shot on the title.
“Swiftly you come out right here and also you skip the road. Really I had a loss then and I had a loss to Raquel Pennington, any person lively, the present champion, any person I love quite a bit and somebody I mirror myself and my sport and the way in which I behave myself [after]. As a result of I believe coming right here and really being a champion is extra than simply coming right here and saying numerous bologna.”
For all of the discuss her skipping the road or getting one thing she doesn’t deserve, Harrison reminded all people on stage that she’s prepared for all challenges and invitations them to try to shut her up.
“That is the distinction between me and all of those women,” Harrison stated. “I come right here they usually complain ‘she skipped the road, she’s on steroids, it’s not truthful, she shouldn’t do that, she shouldn’t try this.’ If this was my division, and I used to be the champion, I might say come the f*ck over and I’ll present you who’s champion.”
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