Kayla Harrison – key to victory at UFC 300

UFC 300 marks the highly anticipated and long overdue debut of Kayla Harrison. The two-time PFL tournament champion has signed with the UFC and will face Holly Holm in the preliminary round of the biggest card in UFC history. We've discussed Harrison's signing and what it means to the company on our YouTube channel, but in this one we're looking at Harrison winning her opening fight at the UFC in Las Vegas!

Kayla Harrison – key to victory at UFC 300

Close the distance, do it!

While this is an obvious key to victory for the former Olympic gold medalist, it is absolutely vital that she does so as quickly as possible. One of Harrison's strengths is her grappling, with which she won most of her fights in the PFL. She struggled when she failed to control her opponent, which we saw in the 2023 final against Larissa Pacheco.

Getting closer will eliminate any octagon jitters she may have. She needs to get her hands on Holm and use her superior size and strength (remember, this is the first time Harrison has dropped to 60kg) to control things. After closing the distance and getting her hands on Holm, she can train her elite judo with trips and more traditional MMA wrestling to take things to the next level. Holm's takedown defense is 78% and she is extremely good at staying on her feet.

She is strong in the clinch and has taken advantage of this in recent years to pin her opponents to the fence and do damage from there. However, it will be difficult against Harrison.

Once Harrison makes it to the floor, she needs to use her floor and hammer…

Smash Holm with ground and pound…including elbows!

If Harrison can keep her opponent on the ground, she can finally use her entire arsenal. As we know (sadly we don't know why), the PFL doesn't allow elbows on the ground, but as we also know, there are no such rules in the UFC. Previously, Harrison had asked PFL officials to allow her to use elbows, but her request was not granted.

We know how devastating she can be when she uses ground and pound elbows. In 2020, the PFL allowed its star a singles bout in Invicta at Invicta 43. She dominated from start to finish and did particularly nasty work on the ground, blowing up her opponent, resulting in a purple mess.

If Harrison can do that to Holm, not only is she likely to win the fight, but she will also make a statement.

Do not shoot “blind” takedowns

Blind takedowns are takedowns that are performed from far away, without any “distractions” such as feints or punches, and are sloppy. Harrison can't afford that against Holm. As we know, Holm is a Hall of Fame-level boxer, an outstanding kickboxer, and a woman who has honed her MMA skills over the years. She has extremely good footwork, quick counters and as we know she has done well to say the least when competing against an Olympic level judoka in the past.

If Harrison is lazy with her takedowns or despairs later in the fight, she could end up on the wrong end of a strong counter from Holm or even stare into the lights of T-Mobile Arena after a takedown from Holm.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – NOVEMBER 15: (LR) Holly Holm defeats Ronda Rousey in their UFC women's bantamweight championship fight during the UFC 193 event at Etihad Stadium on November 15, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Holm was able to defeat Rousey when the two women competed in Australia by ducking under a lazy hook from her opponent, getting the body lock and lifting Rousey up before throwing her onto her back. Harrison can't afford for this to happen to her. She has to make every attack feint credible, concentrate 100% on her takedowns and not let Holm counter her.

If the former face of the PFL scores blind takedowns, it could be a short debut for her as we know Holm can counter well and has knockout power.