"I'm a mother" - When Kayla Harrison addressed "disrespectful" questions asked by unruly fans during UFC Q&A

Last year, Kayla Harrison took part in a UFC Q&A alongside top-ranked lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan. Unfortunately, the two-time Olympic gold medalist became the subject of a highly distasteful question that she later called out in an interview on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani.

The question came from a fan who spoke to Tsarukyan in Russian and asked whether he saw a potential romantic connection with Harrison and how far it might go. Upon learning about the nature of the question, Harrison expressed disappointment, stating:

"It was a fan Q&A. At one point there was a fan who came up and spoke to Arman in Russian, and Arman was getting booed the whole time and we have talked about it, we're fine, but the guy basically asked him how many times would... he asked him a really inappropriate question about me, and Arman answered it."

She was especially hurt by the question, given that she is so much more than what the question reduced her to: a sexual fantasy. Harrison cited her professional accomplishments while blasting the very nature of the question.

"I look like an idiot. I'm up on the stage laughing, and Megan Olivi says, 'Would you care to translate it?' And Arman's like, 'No, stupid question. Move on.' And then next day, I'm tagged in all these Russian outlets with the translation of what he asked and it's disheartening, I think. It's disrespectful. I'm a two-time Olympic champion, I'm a world champion, I'm a mother, I'm an advocate for survivors of sexual abuse, I wrote a book, I have a foundation."

Check out Kayla Harrison's response to the question (15:35):

Fortunately for Harrison, she was able to put the controversy of the question behind her and continue her successful run in the UFC.

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Kayla Harrison is the new UFC women's bantamweight champion

At UFC 316, Kayla Harrison fulfilled one of her professional dreams and dethroned Julianna Peña as women's bantamweight champion. It was a dominant performance from start to finish that saw her outstrike and outgrapple her opponent in every single round, though she only needed two.

Towards the end of round two, Harrison locked in a kimura, which has a low success rate in title fights, and forced the tap from Peña with just seconds remaining. Afterward, in her post-fight interview, she took part in a face-off with her next opponent: the great Amanda Nunes.