Exclusive: Kayla Harrison Claims Larissa Pacheco Would Beat Cris Cyborg, Give Amanda Nunes ‘A Really Hard Time’ | MiddleEasy
“It’s just another stepping stone,” Harrison said of her upcoming trilogy fight with Pacheco. “She’s just another person in my way to me getting what I want. I know she has a lot of confidence going into this fight. Five knockouts, I think first round— not many women are doing that in the sport. So, I know she has a lot of confidence. I know that I’m gonna face the best version of her, but she’s gonna face the best version of me. She didn’t face the best version of me those last two fights. I was going through the middle of a really bad, toxic, abusive relationship. I was struggling. I didn’t have my kids. It was a different Kayla, then my mom had a stroke. There was a lot of shit going on.
“I’m not making excuses at all. Like it is what it is. Life happens, everyone has sh*t they’re going through. But, she’s gonna face the best me, and I’m gonna face the best her and we’re gonna see who wins. That’s why we have fights, you know? She gets another opportunity and so do I. I feel blessed and grateful that I’m on this journey.”
“I think she’s a great fighter,” Harrison said of Pacheco. “I think she has a lot of experience. I think confidence is really important in this sport. People don’t realize how intimidating it can be to step in a cage and have someone try and beat your ass. So confidence, the mental side of the game is very, very important. I think she possesses that.
That’s something you can’t teach. That’s something you can’t emulate. It’s something that you have to earn and you have to grow and you have to make yourself. I think those two things are important. I think that she’s, she’s patient. She’s good everywhere. She’s got great power. But other than that, I think she’s good everywhere. She’s good. Got good ground game. She’s got good awareness. She’s a very great, very good fighter. I think that she has the ability to be one of the best. Just, you know, not where I am.”