Kayla Harrison might be leaving PFL after this season

MMA, PFL
MMA, PFL

Kayla Harrison (14-0) sounds like someone who wants to leave the PFL. The two-time defending champion just resigned with the promotion prior to the 2022 season after a heated free agency period.

Harrison had voiced her desire to face top competition and she was the hottest free agent on the market. The UFC dipped their toe in the pool of interest and Bellator made a serious push to sign the former Olympic Gold Medalist.

However, PFL had the option to match the deal that Bellator offered and they ended up doing so in order to secure Harrison resigning. Apparently the promotion promised to work on getting Harrison fights against top level competition.

However, that hasn’t happened. Harrison has arguably fought lesser competition this season than she ever has before. Now, she was supposed to take on Julia Budd, but Budd pulled out with an injury. PFL signed Budd to up their lightweight division and give Harrison steeper competition.

Will Harrison leave PFL?

In speaking to MMA Underground, Harrison talked about leaving the PFL to further her legacy. She said, “I want the big fights. And if that means I have to be patient and wait and not compete in a season, then I’ll be patient and wait. It’s not about money. It’s about legacy, and it’s about testing myself against the best. So I think that this will probably be my last season.”

From my understanding, the PFL deal that Harrison signed before the year was for multiple years. At least that’s what the promotional material read. However, there could be outs that we don’t know about in the contract.

Cris Cyborg is expected to be a free agent and PFL would be wise to make a run at her. I think Harrison is having a little buyer’s remorse after signing this recent PFL deal. She’s done her part, but there is still no big fights for the lightweight.