PFL MMA has announced the return of Kayla Harrison. The two-time PFL lightweight champion is set to return against former Bellator fighter Julia Budd on Nov. 24.
Kayla Harrison vs. Julia Budd
The US-born Kayla Harrison has had a career drenched in gold. She has earned multiple world titles in Judo, including being the first American in history to capture a gold medal in the Olympics for this sport. The history-making athlete earned two Olympic gold medals for Judo both in 2012 and 2016. Harrison would later transition to MMA.
Cutting her teeth at the American Top Team, Harrison would go put together a perfect 15-0 MMA record and captured two PFL world titles along the way. That is until she was overtaken over five rounds against Brazil’s Larissa Pacheco in a major upset. Harrison has not competed since her 2022 loss to Pacheco.
“The Jewel” Julia Budd, of Canada, is a former Bellator featherweight champion who successfully defended this throne in three bouts. She has a background in kickboxing before transitioning to MMA. She has notable matches against fighters such as Amanda Nunes, Germaine de Randamie, Ronda Rousey, Cris Cyborg, and Marloes Coenen, among others. She will look to continue her winning ways when she faces Harrison on Nov. 24.
The PFL fight card will be a pay-per-view and include the tournament final matches such as the PFL lightweight championship final with Clay Collard vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier, the PFL welterweight championship with Sadibou Sy vs. Magomed Magomedkerimov, the PFL heavyweight championship with Renan Ferreira vs. Denis Goltsov, the PFL women’s featherweight championship with Larissa Pacheco vs. Marina Mokhnatkina, the PFL featherweight championship with Jesus Pinedo vs. Gabriel Braga, and the PFL light heavyweight championship with Joshua Silveira vs. Impa Kasanganay.