UFC 300 Pereira vs Hill | 14 Apr 24 | |||||
Invicta FC 43 King vs Harrison | 20 Nov 20 | |||||
PFL Championships | 31 Dec 19 | |||||
PFL 7 Playoffs 1 | 11 Oct 19 | |||||
PFL 4 | 11 Jul 19 | |||||
Kayla Harrison (born July 2, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist and Olympic and world champion judoka, currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Harrison competed in the 78 kg (172 lb) weight category in judo. She won the 2010 World Judo Championships, gold medals at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, and gold at the 2011 and 2015 Pan American Games.
After the 2016 Olympics, she moved into mixed martial arts and she was the former Professional Fighters League lightweight champion. In March 2023, Harrison was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame.
Born in Middletown, Ohio, Harrison took up judo at the age of six, having been introduced to the sport by her mother, who was a black belt. She graduated from Middletown High School (Ohio).
She began training under coach Daniel Doyle, and won two national championships by the age of 15. During that period, Doyle was sexually abusing Harrison, who reported it to another judoka, who in turn told Harrison's mother. She subsequently reported this to the police. Doyle was convicted and sentenced to a ten-year prison term. A month after the abuse was revealed, she moved away from her home in Ohio to Boston to train with Jimmy Pedro and his father.
In 2020, Harrison acquired full custody of her niece Kyla and nephew Emery, after her stepfather – who had custody of the children at the time – died suddenly.
Olympics Gold 2016 USA Judo Women | Pan American Games 2015 USA Judo Women | Olympics Gold 2012 USA Judo Women | Pan American Games 2011 USA Judo Women |
2008-2016 |
2018-2019 |
2020 |
2021-2023 |