Kayla Harrison pens emotional note claiming she's 'angry,' 'disappointed,' and 'heartbroken' following shock defeat against Larissa Pacheco
Kayla Harrison broke her silence for the first time since losing to Larissa Pacheco at the 2022 PFL Championships.
After losing to Harrison twice in 2019, Pacheco finally found the formula to overcome the seemingly indomitable Olympic judoka. Harrison, on the other hand, has tasted defeat for the first time in her professional MMA career.
While the loss was a minor setback, Harrison admitted that she struggled to deal with the agony of defeat. The former Olympic gold medalist poured her heart out in a letter she posted on Instagram:
"I think like the most people when falling short I feel sad. Angry with myself. Disappointed. Heart broken. Nothing stings for me quite like the pain of failure."
Check out Kayla Harrison's post:
Fortunately, Harrison appears to be doing better now. She sent out an inspirational message to her followers, especially young people, saying that failing is part of life. The former PFL women's featherweight titleholder added:
"I want every young person reading this to know that it’s ok. It’s ok to fail. It’s ok to stumble. And I see it. I read what everyone is saying. But I am not ashamed. I step in the cage and I walk in life knowing that failure is a possibility. I know that I live my life out loud and the consequence of that is to be seen and to be humbled. I’m beyond upset about losing. I can’t ever really describe to you how it will haunt me."
Larissa Pacheco calls out Kayla Harrison's manager
Kayla Harrison's manager Ali Abdelaziz has been accused of cheating by Larissa Pacheco's team after their championship fight.
The CEO of Dominance MMA was caught on video giving advice to Harrison from a neutral corner. Under MMA rules, it is illegal for team members or management staff to yell out instructions unless they're one of the sanctioned cornermen.
With that in mind, Pacheco's team was unhappy with Abdelaziz's action. The Brazilian's manager, Alex Davis, lashed out at Abdelaziz during a recent episode of The MMA Hour:
"So, what happened there was the manager came to the neutral side and started giving instructions. There’s two problems with that. One, you’re giving her [Kayla Harrison] instructions. It’s a third corner. Second, Pacheco could not hear her corner because you had someone yelling nearby and he was getting right up near the cage. He walks up blatantly and starts giving instructions from there."
Watch the video below: