Holly Holm and Kayla Harrison, two of the most notable athletes in the history of women's combat sports, will face off at UFC 300.
The UFC has signed Harrison, a two-time Olympic judo gold medalist and two-time PFL champion, to an exclusive contract, UFC CEO Dana White announced Tuesday. He will face former boxing and UFC champion Holm at UFC 300 on April 13 in Las Vegas. The fight will take place at 135 pounds.
The UFC's signing of Harrison (16-1) is major news in itself. Harrison, 33, has been the face of the PFL since his MMA debut in 2018. He has fought almost his entire career under the PFL banner, primarily at 155 pounds. Harrison's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, told ESPN that Harrison had tried cutting weight in anticipation of a deal with the UFC and was pleased with the result.
“We are very grateful for Kayla's incredible career in the PFL,” Abdelaziz told ESPN. “She became the fighter she is today because of her support. We are nothing but grateful to them and excited to start a new chapter in the UFC.”
Holm, 42, is looking to make one last run at a UFC championship. He is officially 4-1 in his last five appearances, and his only loss was against Ketlen Vieira by split decision in a fight that Holm believed he should have won based on the judges' scorecards. She has two wins over newly crowned UFC bantamweight champion Raquel Pennington in 2015 and 2020.
The winner could immediately enter the fight for the title. Pennington is expected to face former champion Julianna Pena in her first defense, but the UFC has not made an official announcement.
Harrison, who trains at American Top Team in Florida, spoke to the UFC as a free agent in late 2021 under very different circumstances. She had made it clear in the past that she did not want to lose a significant amount of weight, but her options at 145 and 155 pounds have been limited in recent years. The UFC has never promoted a 155-pound division.
