Kayla Harrison is channeling her inner Thanos ahead of UFC 307. Harrison fights Ketlen Vieira in a likely women’s bantamweight title eliminator on Saturday, but the Olympic gold medalist says her ascension is “inevitable.”
Some people thought Harrison, a two-time Olympic gold medalist judoka and two-time Professional Fighters League champion, earned a UFC title shot after steamrolling former champ Holly Holm in her April UFC debut. Yet Harrison was instead booked on the main card of a pay-per-view featuring UFC women’s bantamweight champion Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Pena.
Harrison says she was anointed as the official backup fighter for the title fight but wasn’t given a reason by UFC CEO Dana White for not getting the immediate title shot.
“I think Dana probably promised Julianna a title fight and he’s a man of his word,” Harrison told CBS Sports. “So she’s fighting for the title. I think it’s that cut and dry. I’m new. It’s not like this was the plan for a year or two years. It materialized. I saw an opportunity and I took it. I’m sure that was the plan for her to come back and fight for the title. I’m just here to f— up everything for everyone.”
Pennington told CBS Sports this…
