Kayla Harrison issues response to Ronda Rousey: 'You’re chasing money'

Harrison appeared on Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 274 pre-fight show on Paramount+, where she was given a chance to respond to Rousey’s remarks. The Olympic gold medalist and former PFL two-division champion put it simply: She and Rousey are after different things at this point in their careers.

"I can't imagine what it would be like for someone to come in and beat everything I've ever done," Harrison said. "That would be hard. I get it. Imagine hating me and I'm just over here in my backyard feeding chickens. It's got to be rough. I think that the part that bothers me the most about Ronda is, at one point, she was a real athlete. She was training for the Olympics. She's an Olympic bronze medalist. She became UFC champion. She was really trying to chase greatness.

"I will never take away the fact that Ronda is probably the most important female fighter. If it wasn't for her, for sure, I wouldn't be where I'm at. I wouldn't have a job. But this fight is not the greatest fight of all-time. It's between someone who hasn't fought in 10 years and is coming off two knockout losses and another legend, another pioneer who hasn't fought in 17 years and is in her 40s. So don't call it the greatest fight of all time. I'm chasing greatness. You're chasing money. We're different.”

Rousey and Carano will square off in a five-round featherweight bout at the Intuit Dome on May 16. The card will stream on Netflix, the first MMA event to air on the platform.