Dana White doesn't think Kayla Harrison is ready for the UFC despite her 9-0 record

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By Tom Ward

Published May 12, 2021

PFL champion Kayla Harrison has UFC 'champ-champ' Amanda Nunes firmly in her sights

Kayla Harrison believes that it is only a matter of time before she becomes the greatest mixed martial artist of all time.

The 2019 PFL lightweight champion Harrison (9-0) started the season strongly when she stopped Mariana Morais (16-11) at 1:23 of the first round of the co-main event of PFL 3 at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Harrison, a former Olympic gold medallist, has already set herself out on a warpath in her quest to become the best female fighter of all time, eager to use her judoka skills against anyone who dares to challenge her in the cage - including her teammate turned rival Amanda Nunes.

"My goal is to be the greatest of all time," Harrison told reporters, including GIVEMESPORT, at the PFL 3 post-fight press conference. "She [Nunes] is currently the greatest of all time. The biggest compliment I could give to Amanda is I hope to fight her one day. That’s the best compliment I could give her because that means she’s the GOAT. She’s what we’re all chasing.

She continued: "Having said that, my goal is to be PFL champion right now. I have very tough opponents in front of me. It’s no easy feat to complete a season. It’s a lot of fights back-to-back, quick turnarounds. It’s hard on your body. It’s hard on your mind. So I’m mentally preparing for that, and I take it one fight at a time. But the goal is to be the greatest of all time, so whoever I have to fight to do that, that’s what I want to do."

However, UFC president Dana White insisted that the UFC still has no interest in signing her at this point.

He still feels she has some areas she needs to improve before making the jump to the biggest MMA organisation.

"I don’t know if she’s ready," White said to TSN. "I mean, when she feels like she’s ready, I’m always looking for the best possible people to come in and fight. If you don’t think that we’ve offered her to come over – I just don’t know if her people think she’s ready yet. It’s a whole other level when you get here."

"Holly [Holm], Germaine [de Randamie], Aspen Ladd … Julianna Pena – the list goes on and on,” he added. "It’s a lot tougher when you come over here. I don’t know if they think she’s ready or not, but we’ll find out.”