Kayla Harrison’s MMA journey has been an interesting one. As a lightweight fighter she’s carved out a niche in women’s MMA that’s largely uncharted territory, with the bulk of past WMMA talent competing at featherweight and below.
To their credit, however, the PFL has worked to find regular competition to face Harrison—holding a lightweight tournament in 2019 and (2020’s cancelled season aside) getting her into the cage at least 3 times a year over the past four years. Women’s lightweight MMA may not have a strong presence anywhere else in mixed martial arts, but PFL is making it work.