Kayla Harrison continued her ongoing war of words with Ronda Rousey ahead of the UFC Hall of Famer making her return to action for a fight against Gina Carano on May 16.
Once friends and teammates while both were competing in judo, Harrison previously called Rousey a liar over a story she told about a particular training session when they were working in the same room together. Rousey eventually responded by trashing Harrison and repeatedly called her a “bitch” while touting the size and scale for her upcoming fight against Carano, which is also going to earn her a hefty payday with the reigning UFC women’s bantamweight champion getting “paid less now than I was 10 years ago.”
In response, Harrison believes Rousey’s anger really stems from jealousy and envy that somebody has taken her spot as the top women’s fighter in the UFC.
“I’m just going to go ahead and say I could be meaner,” Harrison said during the UFC Vegas 116 pre-fight show. “I think that it would be really hard, I can’t imagine what it would be like for someone to come in and beat everything I’ve ever done. 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.”
A repeated talking point for Rousey leading into her comeback fight has been the expected viewership for her showdown against Carano.
With the fight airing on Netflix with over 325 million subscribers, there’s a chance that Rousey vs. Carano goes down as one of the most watched events of all time.
That said, Harrison knows there’s a big difference between a fight that a lot of people will likely watch versus her planned matchup against Amanda Nunes, which could potentially crown the greatest women’s fighter in the history of the sport.
“I think that the part that bothers me most about Ronda is at one point she was a real athlete,” Harrison said about Rousey. “She was training for the Olympics. She’s 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 weren’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 woman, again another legend, another pioneer, but hasn’t fought in 17 years and is in her 40s. Don’t call it the greatest fight of all time. I’m chasing greatness. You’re chasing money. We’re different.”
While Rousey is preparing to face Carano in May, Harrison is recovering from neck surgery that delayed her fight against Nunes, which was originally scheduled for UFC 324 in January.
By all accounts, Harrison is healing well and she’s expected to return to action before 2026 is over.
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