Kayla Harrison: MMA star is a judo gold medallist and now a parent having adopted her niece and nephew
Harrison has won two gold medals at judo in London and Rio, but she says nothing can compare to being a parent after adopting her young niece and nephew; she said: "I've never been happier than what I am right now"
Wednesday 18 August 2021 16:38, UK
Kayla Harrison is a perfectionist inside the cage. She wants to be the best "so badly" but all her success means nothing after adopting her niece and nephew.
Harrison (10-0) is simply the best at what she puts her mind to having won the 2010 World Judo Championships, gold medals at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, and gold at the 2011 and 2015 Pan American Games.
But after her stepfather passed away and mother suffered a stroke, Harrison took custody of her young niece (Kayla, 8) and nephew (Emery, 2).
"I thought that fighting was hard, getting punched in the face was hard, and trying to get out of an armbar was hard, preparing for a fight, the stress, the pressure, Olympic gold medals, no! To all the parents of the world I salute you. To all the good parents of the world, I salute you, I applaud you" Harrison told Sky Sports' Ed Draper.
"Parenting has been definitely the toughest challenge of my life to date, but also by far the most rewarding and just the most fulfilling thing I've ever done. I couldn't be happier.
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"I've had a lot of good moments in my life but I've never been more at peace, I've never been happier than what I am right now.
"By letting all that go, it's made me more relaxed. I'm such a perfectionist, I want to be the best so badly and I was so good at judo but I'm not as good at MMA yet. I was really frustrated with that, but now I'm doing great. When I have a hard day at home when we're having a two-year-old tantrum, I get to go and punch someone in the face.
"I think it's like a healthy distraction for me because I love them and it brings me joy and peace."
The 31-year-old from Ohio is ready for a battle in the cage when she fights New Zealand's Genah Fabian (4-1) in the main event of 2021 PFL Playoffs 2 in a women's lightweight semi-final bout.
Harrison said: "I think it's going to be a good fight. We were actually scheduled to fight in 2019 but she pulled out. We never got that fight, but I've been preparing for it ever since October 2019.
"She's a southpaw, I'm a southpaw. She's a striker, I'm a grappler. I think it's going to be who can go out there and implement their game-plan.
"I'm ready for anything."
