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Kayla Harrison has given her thoughts on what's next in her mixed martial arts career after talks with the PFL reportedly stalled.
For the longest time, it seemed that the two-time PFL lightweight champion would be re-signing with the promotion for a third season. This came despite heavy interest from the likes of the UFC and Bellator, who are interested in putting her up against Amanda Nunes and Cris Cyborg, respectively.
The 31-year-old is easily one of the hottest free agents in combat sports and it doesn't seem as if her momentum is going to slow down anytime soon.
During a recent interview with ESPN MMA, Harrison spoke openly about what's been happening and what the future holds:
"I had thought that I was going to re-sign with the PFL, I was pretty certain that I was going to re-sign for one more year... Other things have happened and there’s some last-minute things happening behind closed doors that mean I’m not entirely sure now what’s going to happen, again."
Watch Kayla Harrison's interview with ESPN MMA below:
What was 2021 like for Kayla Harrison?
Kayla Harrison sat in the front row at UFC 269 in December where she watched in shock as Julianna Pena beat Amanda Nunes to claim the UFC women's bantamweight title.
Harrison's 2021 was more straightforward, where she put on absolute clinics to repeat her success as the PFL lightweight champion.
It started off in May when she beat Mariana Morais via TKO after returning to 155 pounds following a brief trip down to featherweight in Invicta FC. She proceeded to defeat Cindy Dandois via submission at PFL 6 just over a month later, setting up a semi-final showdown with Genah Fabian.
She tore through Fabian with relative ease. In the final, Harrison beat Taylor Guardado via a second-round submission to retain the gold and seal another $1 million prize.
The next step is unknown. However, if she wants to truly challenge herself, the UFC and Bellator will be waiting to make it happen.
