"You're a legend of the sport and I really, really, really want to fight you" - Kayla Harrison calls out Cris Cyborg for an opportunity to make a historic women's superfight
While Kayla Harrison recently signed a big money deal to stay with the Professional Fighters League, the two-time Olympic Judo gold medalist is still hopeful that she'll be able to land a fight with Cris Cyborg. This is despite the fact that Cyborg currently fights for Bellator MMA.
In a new interview with MMA Junkie, Harrison revealed that she has a secret date and opponent for her next PFL fight, but that didn't stop her from looking ahead to a future where she could hopefully fight one of the pioneers of women's mixed martial arts.
"That's my goal. I want to fight Cris Cyborg. I'm very willing to step in the cage with Cris Cyborg. Any day of the week, any time, any weight. I don't care if it's cross-promotion, co-promotion, CBS, ABC, ESPN, friggin' Disney, Showtime, Looney Tunes, Nickelodeon At Night, I really don't care. I just want to fight the best and she's one of the best."
Cris Cyborg may be willing to fight Kayla Harrison, but there's enough enmity that the Brazilian has Harrison blocked on Twitter.
Dang it. I went too far. Cris please fight me! I won’t use judo just wrestling. https://t.co/1STSXA9ODb
Harrison was quick to squash any perceived beef she might have with Cris Cyborg, giving the Bellator women's featherweight champion a lot of respect.
"Cris, if you're watching this, I have a lot of respect for you, I love what you do for the community. I love how you give back, I love how you use your platform for good. I think you're a true model, a true legend of the sport. And I really, really, really want to fight you. So please give me the opportunity to help our sport grow, help women's MMA grow, and let's make headlines together."
Watch the full interview with Kayla Harrison below:
Kayla Harrison's new PFL contract makes her one of the highest paid women in MMA
Free agency was good for Kayla Harrison, who fielded a big money offer from Bellator before accepting a matching offer from PFL to keep her there. According to her manager Ali Abdelaziz, the deal with the PFL makes her the highest paid woman in MMA history and the third highest paid fighter overall (via MMA Junkie).
“Kayla is the highest [paid] female fighter ever. I know Adesanya say this, Masvidal say this. The highest paid male fighter in the UFC is Conor McGregor. Number two is Kamaru Usman. Everybody else – I guarantee you Kayla Harrison makes more money than these other two guys I just mentioned. I guarantee you.”
That's an impressive claim considering Israel Adesanya and Jorge Masvidal both signed new high profile deals with the UFC recently. But most money from UFC contracts typically come from a percentage of pay-per-view sales. According to Kayla Harrison, the PFL's contract is all about 'guaranteed money.'