Who has been the best female fighter is 2024? The only right answer is Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison. Even UFC veterans, Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen admitted to it on their ‘Good Guy/Bad Guy’ podcast.
It was Sonnen who cast his vote for Kayla initially. Cormier did present a different choice. But he too couldn’t refute Sonnen’s opinion after analyzing various aspects of Kayla’s UFC 300 fight against Holly Holm.
Fans may remember that Kayla made her UFC debut against Holm at bantamweight, which isn’t even her usual weight class. Sonnen complimented her for successfully managing to cut down to 135 lbs, a good 44 lbs lower than the weight class she competed in during her Olympics campaigns in 2012 and 2016.
Meanwhile, Cormier also gave Kayla another point for how she had portrayed herself as a future champ despite taking to the octagon just once. Cormier said,
“You would have a hard time finding someone telling you that Raquel Pennington can beat Kayla Harrison if they are matched up for the UFC bantamweight championship. That is why she [Kayla Harrison] is my [mid-year female] fighter of the year.”
Credits: USA TODAY Sports
Everyone including DC, wants to see that Raquel Pennigton vs Kayla Harrison fight. But the general consensus is that the bantamweight title is for the Olympian to take. It’s only a matter of time.
Harrison crowd favorite vs Pennington
Looking at Kayla’s build proves that Sonnen was right to compliment her regarding her successful weight cut. Harrison appears severely jacked up compared to the other bantamweights in the current UFC roster.
This means, her walk-around weight would also be much higher than the other UFC bantamweights, including the current champ, Pennington.
Both Pennington and Harrison will have to clock 135 lbs for their fight. But Kayla’s naturally bigger build will cause her to recover more weight in the time available between the weigh-ins and the actual showdown.
And no matter what people say, it’s always the size of the dog in the fight and if the dog has a couple of Olympic golds, well damn!
