Kayla Harrison's manager believes she will surpass Ronda Rousey's UFC legacy: "I'm talking about dominance"
Kayla Harrison's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, recently spoke to MMA Fighting in an exclusive interview. During the sitdown, the Dominance MMA founder expressed his belief that Harrison would achieve greater UFC success than women's MMA pioneer Ronda Rousey.
Not only is Rousey the biggest draw in women's MMA history by a significant margin, but she is also credited with opening doors for female fighters in the sport by forcing the UFC to sign women to the roster. However, as Abdelaziz says, Harrison will prove to be a greater force inside the octagon.
"This is no disrespect to Ronda, she's great, she opened the door for all of the women but Kayla, all the time, did things much better than her. [Ronda] won a bronze medal. Kayla won two gold medals. The way Kayla is going to beat people, I don't think Ronda was ever going to beat people the way Kayla is going to do it. I'm talking about dominance. She doesn't say much but she does a lot of damage. She inflicts a lot of pain."
It is a bold statement from Abdelaziz, especially given that Harrison does say a lot, being one of the foremost trash-talkers in women's MMA. Moreover, Rousey had one of the most dominant runs in women's bantamweight history, finishing everyone she has ever beaten, and almost always in record time.
Moreover, she is one of the most successful UFC champions in the history of women's MMA, with six title defenses. Harrison, while a two-time Olympic champion in judo, still has a long way to go before she can compare herself to Rousey.
Kayla Harrison and Ronda Rousey have history
Kayla Harrison and Ronda Rousey were once training partners and roommates during their competitive judoka careers. Rousey, who is three years older than Harrison, served as something of a mentor to the former PFL women's lightweight champion, even buying her groceries when Harrison struggled financially.
The two have also competed against each other in judo many years ago.
Check out Kayla Harrison and Ronda Rousey grappling:
While they have since grown apart, Harrison maintains a level of respect for her and now appears set to be a spiritual successor to Rousey in the UFC women's bantamweight division.