Kayla Harrison, two-time Olympic gold medalist, cemented her dominance at UFC 316 (Sat., June 7, 2025), dismantling former two-time Final Preventing Championship (UFC) Bantamweight champion Julianna Pena with a second-round kimura to assert the title inside Newark’s Prudential Heart (watch highlights).
However the true battle occurred lengthy earlier than the cage door closed.
Harrison’s weight minimize has been the speak of the MMA world since she joined UFC. Whereas she’s hit the mark each time, UFC 316 demanded championship weight: a grueling 135 lbs, not 136. At Friday’s early weigh-ins, Harrison seemed extremely sucked up, however at present, images of her harrowing minimize surfaced, and they’re scary.
Verify it beneath:
Earlier than and after making the load, she initially dodged particulars of her loopy weight minimize, crediting divine intervention with a coy, “I didn’t make weight—God did.”
However at present (Mon., June 9, 2025) in an interview with Ariel Helwani, Harrison revealed the punishing actuality of her 15-week battle camp.
Unbelievable. Kayla Harrison breaks down her brutal weight minimize so as to make championship weight at 135lbs:
“It is not good… I do not know actually how else to clarify it. I do not assume that anybody can actually perceive that course of except they’ve gone by way of it.
For 15… pic.twitter.com/CgXCfbjQ2a
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 9, 2025
“It’s not good,” Harrison advised Ariel Helwani. “I don’t understand how else to clarify it. I don’t assume anybody can actually perceive that course of except they’ve gone by way of it. I’ve stated it so much this previous week, nevertheless it’s the reality: I’m not mentally sturdy sufficient to do this; God did that. I needed to give up. I didn’t need to be there anymore.”
“For 15 weeks, I’m on a eating regimen. I solely eat what my chef, Dara, offers me. If I get actually loopy urges or cravings, I’ll have a spoonful of peanut butter,” Harrison continued. “I feel I did that thrice through the camp. Fourteen weeks out, I begin strolling, so each single day I stroll six miles, bike for 2 hours, or swim for about an hour and a half. On Sundays, I often stroll eight miles.”
“That’s on high of the 2 different coaching periods I do every day. Within the morning, I am going reside, onerous—both sparring or grappling,” Harrison added. “At night time, I’m drilling. Then, six weeks out, I begin warmth acclimation, so three days every week, I’m within the sauna for an hour on my own—often at night time as a result of that’s the one time I’ve.”
“It’s actually onerous,” Harrison concluded. “I simply must maintain telling myself that it’s chosen struggling and that it’ll be value it.”
Her sacrifice deserves respect. Weight slicing stays MMA’s harmful underbelly, and Harrison’s dedication to UFC glory is staggering, as a result of she has competed above Bantamweight for many of her profession and at 170 lbs throughout her Olympic run.
But, she admitted that she doesn’t understand how for much longer her physique can enable the brutal weight cuts, however will cross the bridge as soon as she fights former teammate Amanda Nunes in a ladies’s “tremendous” battle.
For full UFC 316 outcomes and play-by-play click on right here.
