'I might try and do a test cut': Is bantamweight next for Kayla Harrison?

Kayla Harrison is one of the brightest stars in women’s MMA yet has no obvious fights on the horizon. Now the former two-time PFL lightweight champion might take matters into her own hands and cut down two weight classes (20 pounds) to bantamweight, she told ESPN on Wednesday.

Harrison had considered it before, though not very seriously. This time, she said, it’s more real, even if it’s not necessarily something she wants to do.

“It really comes down to, how bad do I want it?” Harrison said. “How bad do I want to fight? What am I willing to sacrifice for my dreams? It’s tough, man. I might f— around and find out. I might try and do a test cut.”

The future options for Harrison in MMA are limited and it’s a major source of frustration for someone who won two Olympic gold medals in judo. Harrison said it looked like a superfight with Bellator featherweight champion Cris Cyborg was set back in May, but Cyborg ended up re-signing with Bellator. Harrison said she was under the impression the bout was done and Cyborg, who had been a free agent, would be coming to the PFL.

“There were more than talks,” Harrison said. “There were negotiations, there were numbers thrown, contracts written, Super Bowl tickets given, wining and dining happening. There was a lot that went into the signing of said person. … I hate talking about her. I feel like she played the game — and I can’t hate her for that. She played the game, she did the thing, she did the dance. She used people. It happened for a reason. She signed with Bellator, I’m with PFL.”

Cyborg did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ESPN.

There have been rumors the last few months about PFL possibly partnering with or acquiring Bellator outright. Bellator president Scott Coker acknowledged the possibility of a merger during a media day in Chicago back in June. That’s something that could put Harrison and Cyborg under one promotional roof, making a fight easier. But there is still lot unclear there, including whether or not the companies coming together will even happen.

Another future big fight for Harrison would have been Amanda Nunes, the most accomplished women’s MMA fighter of all time. Nunes retired last month, vacating both the UFC women’s featherweight and bantamweight titles. Harrison and Nunes were teammates at American Top Team before Nunes departed the gym last year. Now that potential headliner has been lost, probably forever.

“One of the hardest parts about all of it is my timing in MMA is pretty brutal,” Harrison said. “Sometimes I’m like, ‘Did I really need a second gold medal?’ I should’ve just gone to MMA when I was 22 and then I could’ve just … been this monster.”

Harrison, 33, said she still has two more fights left on her PFL contract. She is coming off a loss to Larissa Pacheco in the PFL lightweight championship fight last November, her first MMA defeat and one that still stings. Harrison said she considered going back into the PFL season this year at featherweight, like Pacheco did, but the Cyborg fight was close.

Now, she doesn’t know when she will fight again. She did say if she fights this year it will be with PFL, but she added that the contract does expire at some point, too.

“I’m literally down,” Harrison said. “If someone wants to fight, God bless my sparring partners, but I’m getting sick of them. I want to get in a cage and feel that.”

A Harrison move down to bantamweight would an attractive one to the UFC if Harrison were to become a free agent. Without Nunes, there really is no UFC featherweight division right now and bantamweight would have some interesting matchups for her, like Julianna Peña, Raquel Pennington, Holly Holm or even Miesha Tate. Harrison trains with another top contender, Mayra “Sheetara” Bueno Silva.

But that weight cut would not be an easy one. Harrison, a muscular 5-foot-8, competed in the Olympics at 78kg (about 172 pounds). Bantamweight’s non-title limit is 136 pounds.

“I’m definitely at the end of my athletic career, not the beginning,” Harrison said. “Do I want to spend the last two or three years of my career absolutely miserable? But do I want to accomplish what I want to accomplish? At this point, I’m going to settle for [striving to be] one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time. … I’m gonna compromise and settle for ‘one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time.'”