Kayla Harrison in the UFC: Signing date, debut date, opponent and more - All you need to know

After years of dominant competition in the PFL, Kayla Harrison officially put pen to paper and signed with the UFC.

The former PFL women's lightweight champion is one of the most decorated combat sports athletes, having won two Olympic gold medals in judo as well as her two PFL women's lightweight tournament wins in 2019 and 2021. Despite suffering her first career loss in the 2022 women's lightweight final, she was able to bounce back as she earned a dominant unanimous decision win over UFC veteran Aspen Ladd this past November.

Dana White made the official announcement that the Olympic gold medal-winning judoka was joining the UFC roster in a social media post on Jan. 23. Not only did he announce the signing, but he announced that Harrison would be making her promotional debut at 135 pounds against former women's bantamweight champion Holly Holm at the milestone UFC 300 event, which is scheduled to take place on April 13.

The 33-year-old has never fought at 135 pounds in her MMA career, so there were plenty of questions surrounding whether she could successfully make the weight. While speaking to Kevin Iole, the former PFL women's lightweight champion assured fans that she only competed at lightweight because she wasn't a believer in cutting weight, so her cut to 135 pounds won't be as drastic as some believe it to be. She said:

"There's a misperception out there that I walk around at like 180-pounds or something...The whole time I was [in the PFL], I walked around at 165 [pounds], maybe 165 [pounds] and so not only was I usually the smaller fighter with less experience, I was getting in the cage with girls who were getting in there at 180...175-pounds. Now, that's not going to be the case."

It will be interesting to see how Harrison performs in her bantamweight debut at UFC 300 and whether the promotion will fast-track her to a title shot should she earn a decisive win over Holm.