Kayla Harrison has more than just a UFC title at stake at UFC 316. She has the additional mission of proving Henry Cejudo wrong, and faces a much sterner test of convincing Khabib Nurmagomedov that she is the greatest combat sports athlete ever. The 34-year-old American will challenge for bantamweight gold for the first time against Julianna Pena on Saturday night.
Now, Harrison is no stranger to success in combat sports. She is coming off a dominant run with the PFL (Professional Fighters League), where she twice landed lightweight tournament gold. Before her move to mixed martial arts, the Ohio native scooped a pair of Olympic gold medals. The feat landed her amongst the Judoka elite.
Making big moves in the Octagon already, Harrison has submitted ex-champion Holly Holm. Before earning her title fight with Pena tonight, Harrison bested Ketlen Vieira at UFC 307.
And, by toppling Pena, she wants to prove to former two-weight champion Cejudo that she is the ‘greatest’. The two had made a wager that if Harrison won gold, she would be proclaimed the best combat sports athlete of all time. But will the victory be enough to convince Nurmagomedov?
Speaking with Daniel Cormier in a pre-bout interview at UFC 316, Harrison touched upon the unbreakable bond between the American former UFC champ and Nurmagomedov. Put on the spot by Cejudo to name the best combat sports athlete ever, Nurmagomedov had picked his long-time American Kickboxing Academy stablemate, Cormier.
“I was like, all right, I bet you 1,000 anytime push-ups. 1,000 push-ups from me, and you only have to give me 100 push-ups. And then finally, he took the bet,” Harrison said of her wager with Cejudo.
“And then he turned to Khabib, and he was like, who’s the greatest combat athlete of all time right now?” Harrison continued. “Who’s the greatest combat athlete of all time right now? Currently. I can’t believe you haven’t seen this. And Khabib goes, Daniel Cormier!”
Always holding a tight bond, Cormier and Nurmagomedov have also made a pact, it seems. Cormier has not interviewed Nurmagomedov’s arch-rival Conor McGregor in recent years.
Cormier reveals Khabib is like ‘family’ to him
Refuting the chance to interview McGregor ahead of his return fight back in 2021, Cormier claimed his allegiance to Nurmagomedov ultimately made his mind up for him.
Off the back of his knockout loss to Dustin Poirier at the beginning of that year, McGregor was interviewed by long-time play-by-play lead, Jon Anik. That was despite Cormier being on duty that night.
The Hall of Fame star later revealed that he chose not to speak with the Dubliner, even in a professional capacity.
“Things have changed now. I don’t try to request (Conor) McGregor for interviews… Khabib’s not just a teammate, he’s family,” Cormier said.
Cormier had once addressed Khabib as his “little brother”, and their friendship has flourished over time, from the training hall to title bouts, and into familial territory now.
