PFL star Kayla Harrison made her Invicta FC debut on Friday night and put on an incredible performance, defeating Courtney King via TKO.
Harrison was allowed to go over from PFL to Invicta FC to take a fight while the Professional Fighters League is on hiatus in 2020. In her first fight with Invicta FC, Harrison made her professional women’s featherweight debut against King in what was a huge mismatch. The fight turned into a bloody mess as Harrison dominated King with her incredible grappling skills while bloodying her up on the mat for a second-round TKO.
Kayla Harrison just beat Courtney King into a bloody mess. Opened up a nasty cut on the bridge of her nose midway through the first and the mauling just continued. pic.twitter.com/3J7Cmhui7o
— Will (@ChillemDafoe) November 21, 2020
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With the win, Harrison improved to a perfect 8-0 with the victory, with all of her victories coming since making her professional MMA debut in 2018 following a career as an Olympic judoka. With Harrison’s incredible grappling, her vicious ground and pound, her brute strength, and her slick submission skills, she looks like someone who could be a future opponent for UFC women’s featherweight champion Amanda Nunes, especially now that Harrison is fighting at 145lbs.
Following Harrison’s vicious TKO win over King, several pros took to social media to comment on her excellent performance. Check out some of the highlights below.
This is the face of the woman who is fighting Kayla Harrison right now, Courtney King. pic.twitter.com/AxduqZ7hYv
advertisement – continue reading below— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 21, 2020
imagine this was 5 years ago and kayla Harrison was 8-0 and Rousey was still on top undefeated. the mega fight that would be.
— Jesse Ronson (@Ronsoff) November 21, 2020
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The ref finally stops this absolutely lopsided affair with about 13 seconds remaining in the 2nd round.
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) November 21, 2020
The destructive win over King will of course have many wondering how long it is until she makes it to the UFC and fights the UFC women’s featherweight champion Nunes. We didn’t know if Harrison could make 145lbs, but now that we know she can safely make the weight, you’d have to imagine that this is her weight class going forward. Harrison has been taking the slow build approach so far in MMA and she probably wants another fight or two before making the jump to the big show. But she isn’t that far away from the UFC.
What do you think is next for Kayla Harrison?