[h=1]Kayla Harrison ready to make the switch from judo to MMA[/h]
By Mia Berry GLOBE CORRESPONDENT <time itemprop="datePublished" datetime="2018-06-20 21:07" class="article-header__pubdate" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); text-transform: uppercase; font-weight: 400; display: initial; letter-spacing: 0.1rem;">JUNE 20, 2018</time>
Two-time Olympic judo gold medalist Kayla Harrison is set to make her mixed martial arts debut at PFL 2 in Chicago Thursday.
Harrison, 27, became the first American to win a gold medal in judo in London in 2012 and repeated as champion in 2016 at Rio de Janeiro. Following the 2016 Olympics, Harrison retired from judo and a month later signed with the Professional Fighters League.
“The hard part about the Olympics is that once it’s over, it’s over,” said Harrison. “Once you retire from that, there’s not much an Olympic athlete can do to feel that high again. For me, MMA has really filled that void and given me purpose again.”
The PFL, formerly known as the World Series of Fighting, features a regular season and postseason format, with a $1 million prize. The playoff ranking system was a major selling point for Harrison, who started off her PFL career as a commentator before announcing her debut fight earlier this year.
“It’s a point system, and that’s what judo is like, leading up to the Olympics and being No. 1 in the world,” said Harrison, who is originally from Ohio and lives in Danvers. “Titles are defended every year. It’s not solely based on entertainment factor. I don’t have to talk trash to get an opportunity to fight for a championship.
“It just fits my personality a little bit better.”
This season, the women’s division won’t have the regular-season-to-postseason format, but the expectation is to create divisions and a championship bracket next year.
“I think it’s going to take some time to develop,” said Harrison. “Like I say, if you build it, they will come. I think it’s only a matter of time before major female athletes cross over into [MMA].
By Mia Berry GLOBE CORRESPONDENT <time itemprop="datePublished" datetime="2018-06-20 21:07" class="article-header__pubdate" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); text-transform: uppercase; font-weight: 400; display: initial; letter-spacing: 0.1rem;">JUNE 20, 2018</time>
Two-time Olympic judo gold medalist Kayla Harrison is set to make her mixed martial arts debut at PFL 2 in Chicago Thursday.
Harrison, 27, became the first American to win a gold medal in judo in London in 2012 and repeated as champion in 2016 at Rio de Janeiro. Following the 2016 Olympics, Harrison retired from judo and a month later signed with the Professional Fighters League.
“The hard part about the Olympics is that once it’s over, it’s over,” said Harrison. “Once you retire from that, there’s not much an Olympic athlete can do to feel that high again. For me, MMA has really filled that void and given me purpose again.”
The PFL, formerly known as the World Series of Fighting, features a regular season and postseason format, with a $1 million prize. The playoff ranking system was a major selling point for Harrison, who started off her PFL career as a commentator before announcing her debut fight earlier this year.
“It’s a point system, and that’s what judo is like, leading up to the Olympics and being No. 1 in the world,” said Harrison, who is originally from Ohio and lives in Danvers. “Titles are defended every year. It’s not solely based on entertainment factor. I don’t have to talk trash to get an opportunity to fight for a championship.
“It just fits my personality a little bit better.”
This season, the women’s division won’t have the regular-season-to-postseason format, but the expectation is to create divisions and a championship bracket next year.
“I think it’s going to take some time to develop,” said Harrison. “Like I say, if you build it, they will come. I think it’s only a matter of time before major female athletes cross over into [MMA].
