Kayla Harrison has responded to Ronda Rousey's criticism, claiming Rousey is 'chasing money.' Rousey is set to fight Gina Carano on May 16, marking her return to MMA after a decade.
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Kayla Harrison has fired back at Ronda Rousey, after the UFC legend accused her of having âthe charisma of a wet towelâ and dismissed her legacy.
On 16 May, Rousey will fight in mixed martial arts for the first time in 10 years, facing Gina Carano on a Most Valuable Promotions show.
All the while, Harrison is recovering from a neck injury as she aims to defend the UFC bantamweight title for the first time. She was scheduled to do so against a returning Amanda Nunes in January, before she sustained her injury.
UFC womenâs bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison (Getty)
Harrison, 35, and Rousey, 39, actually have similar backgrounds, with the latter winning Olympic judo bronze for Team USA in 2008, before Harrison won gold in the same discipline in 2012 and 2016. Rousey also held the UFC bantamweight title from 2013 until 2015.
Rousey actually retired after a knockout loss to Nunes in 2016, but now she is back to face Carano, a fellow Strikeforce legend, who hasnât fought since 2009. And Rousey has been typically outspoken during the build-up, leading Harrison to respond.
âIâm just going to go ahead and say I could be meaner,â Harrison said during on Saturday. âI think that it would be really hard... I canât imagine what it would be like for someone to come in and beat everything Iâve ever done. That would be hard. I get it.
Ronda Rousey accused Kayla Harrison of having 'the charisma of a wet towel' and dismissed her legacy.
Ronda Rousey's next fight is scheduled for May 16, where she will face Gina Carano.
Kayla Harrison is recovering from a neck injury that delayed her title defense against Amanda Nunes.
Aljamain Sterling aims for the UFC featherweight title after his recent win over Youssef Zalal. The show also discusses the Ronda Rousey and Kayla Harrison feud, and previews UFC Fight Night 275 in Perth, Australia.
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âImagine hating me and Iâm just over here in my backyard feeding chickens. Itâs got to be rough.â
âI think that the part that bothers me most about Ronda is at one point she was a real athlete. She was training for the Olympics. Sheâs an Olympic bronze medalist. She became a 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 werenât for her, for sure I wouldnât be where Iâm at. I wouldnât have a job.
âBut this fight [with Carano] is not the greatest fight of all time. Itâs between someone who hasnât fought in 10 years and is coming off two knockout losses, and another woman â again another legend, another pioneer, but [who] hasnât fought in 17 years and is in her 40s. Donât call it the greatest fight of all time.
Ronda Rousey (left) boldly claimed her bout with Gina Carano is the biggest MMA fight of all time (Getty)
âIâm chasing greatness. Youâre chasing money. Weâre different.â
It is unclear when Harrison will return to the cage, but she is still expected to fight Nunes next time out.
Harrison was a lightweight champion in the PFL before debuting in the UFC in 2024 and cutting down to bantamweight. Her UFC debut was a submission win over Holly Holm, who dethroned Rousey via KO in 2015, and Harrison next outpointed Ketlen Vieira before challenging Julianna Pena last June. Harrison submitted Pena to become bantamweight champion.