Olympic gold medallist Kayla Harrison focused on future after securing PFL play-off spot
- Seb Sternik
- 2 July 2022
Kayla Harrison will return to the city in which she won her first Olympic gold medal after sealing her place in the PFL play-offs.
The 32-year-old produced a devastating performance as she enjoyed a TKO victory over stand-in opponent Kaitlin Young on Friday.
The 2012 Olympic Judo champion claimed the victory after just 2 minutes and 35 seconds as she sealed her place in the PFL women's lightweight semi-finals.
Young was a late replacement for Julia Budd, who was forced to withdraw from the PFL season due to an undisclosed injury.
While she is an experienced campaigner in the cage, it was Harrison who dominated from the outset and punched her way to the play-offs.
"The goal is to go out and dominate," said Harrison in her post-fight interview. "Sometimes you just feel it. When you feel it, you just blast double and get them down."
Harrison will now take on Czech Republic's Martina Jindrova in her semi-final bout in London.
Conincidently, London is also the city which saw Harrison claim the first of her two Olympic crowns.
Nevertheless, the MMA star was not interested in looking back at her previous achievements, saying: "No one wants to talk about my past, we want to talk about my future."
Looking back at her fight, Harrison underlined her ground game, saying: "I think that's part of the gameplan every fight. It's no secret at this point, 14 fights in.
"Until someone finds a way to stop the takedown effectively, and I showcase those skills, that's probably going to continue to be my MO."
