"Spent a lot of camp worried" - Cris Cyborg advises Kayla Harrison on biggest threat against Holly Holm
Kayla Harrison isn't focusing on what she needs to do ahead of her UFC debut in the eyes of Cris Cyborg.
The former UFC featherweight champion quote tweeted a clip of Harrison in judo competition with Ronda Rousey. Cyborg was discussing how the former multi-time PFL champion lost to Rousey twice in that sport.
She discussed this in the context of how Kayla Harrison has largely succeeded more in heavier weight categories ahead of her drop down to bantamweight in her looming UFC debut versus Holly Holm.
Within the subsequent quote tweet of that footage, Cyborg said:
"I think Holly Holm's hand speed and foot speed are going to be too much at the new weight. Kayla spent a lot of camp worried about taking muscle off when the problem is going to be speed. What did she do to increase her speed during camp?"
Check out Cris Cyborg's UFC 300 insights for Kayla Harrison below:
Kayla Harrison and the discourse around her bantamweight move
The rumblings around the former PFL lightweight champion dropping down two weight categories for her UFC 300 bout on April 13 extend beyond fans and fighters alike.
Via the MMA on Point YouTube channel, noted nutritionist Tom Coughlin delved into his personal analysis on the two-time Olympic gold medalist embarking on her first trip down to 135 pounds.
In discussing the 33-year-old mixed martial artist navigating this cut, Coughlin quipped:
"Personally I've never seen a weight cut of this magnitude. Not necessarily even just in female athletes but in MMA athletes across the board. It's a seriously risky business losing 30 pounds to try and get down to 135 pounds. It's a significant amount of weight she's got to cut."
While Kayla Harrison has fought at featherweight before and her last bout was a 150-pound catchweight, this is a different kettle of fish altogether.
In further discussing some of the potential risks associated with this bantamweight move for the Ohio native, Coughlin stated:
"The risk of getting ill exponentially increases. If she didn't get ill through this whole camp, I'd be amazed, to be honest. If she was to get ill, at best it might be a few days of training that you miss. But at worst that could mean developing illness when traveling to an event.
"It could be a case that she misses the weigh-in altogether or misses weight because she's at higher risk of illness. This is a real area of concern or certainly would be from my professional standpoint."
See the video below: