Kayla Harrison drew an excited reaction from one of her kids after winning UFC gold but the sentiment was not widespread throughout the Harrison household. The reigning UFC bantamweight champion spoke with assembled media at the 2025 UFC Hall of Fame red carpet and covered several subjects in the wake of unseating Julianna Pena a few weeks ago via second round submission at UFC 316.
As the multi-time Olympic gold medalist in judo discussed how her kids reacted to the moment where she won UFC hardware, Harrison said,
“My daughter was excited. My son doesn’t really care. He’s six, so he’s just like, ‘Oh, mom’s home. What did you bring me from New Jersey?’ And I’m like, ‘I brought you a belt.’ And he’s like, ‘No, no, I mean like candy, chocolate, like, what do we got?’ Both my kids do judo right now. I teach them judo. My daughter has especially shown a big interest in it.”
“She’s very fierce. She’s very fearless. It makes me a little bit emotional to think about because she hasn’t had the easiest road and there’s been a lot of uncertainty in her life. Just to see her thriving and blossoming into the young woman she’s becoming is—yeah, it’s greater than any belt.”
Kayla Harrison not keen on potential champ vs. champ fight at the White House
Kayla Harrison is preparing to fight the women’s MMA GOAT Amanda Nunes for an as-of-yet unconfirmed date and location but there is a certain MMA fighter that she is not looking to get locked in the cage with. US president Donald Trump mentioned his desire to want to host UFC fights at the White House next year and a fan had quite the curious suggestion for Harrison.
On a graphic that Harrison posted of herself holding the UFC gold with surrounding images of the American flag and several eagles, a fan claimed that he was speaking for all UFC fans by saying they want to see the women’s bantamweight titleholder take on the UFC men’s bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili at the White House in 2026. Harrison’s response was fairly succinct and clear as she stated [via Bloody Elbow],
“I ain’t ready for that smoke sweetie”
