Olympic Champion Kayla Harrison to Compete as MMA Fighter

WAKEFIELD, MA — After months of debate in the combat sports community, Olympic judo champion Kayla Harrison has confirmed that she will be transitioning to the world of professional mixed martial arts fighting (MMA).

The two-time olympic gold medalist who hails from Ohio and trains at Pedro's Judo Center located on New Salem Street in Wakefield confirmed her decision to sign with the World Series of Fighting (WSOF) MMA promotion to USA Today Thursday. Harrison, 26, is the first American to win a gold medal in Judo, and recently captured her second gold medal during the 2016 summer games in Rio De Janeiro.

Following her second olympic triumph, It seemed fitting for Harrison to make the jump. Her former roommate and training partner Ronda Rousey had previously transitioned from being a judo bronze medalist to arguably the best female MMA fighter the world has ever seen, while becoming a cultural icon in the process.

Judo, a Japanese martial art which does not allow striking and focuses on body throws as well as grappling, varies greatly from MMA. Harrison's new pursuit combines all aspects of unarmed combat including punches, kicks, knees, elbows, takedowns, judo throws, grappling and more.

The former champion Rousey (12-1) currently competes for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a fight promotion separate of WSOF. Her judo skills transitioned seamlessly to MMA, as she 11 of her first 12 opponents in the first round. She utilized a popular Judo technique known as the "arm bar" to defeat nine of those opponents.

It is highly unlikely that the two will ever meet inside an MMA cage. Aside from promotional contracts barring the two from competing against one another outside of an unlikely agreement between the two promoters, they will likely compete in different weight divisions. Rousey is a former champion in the UFC's 135-pound division, and the much-larger Harrison competed at 78 kg in Judo (approximately 172 pounds).

While MMA fighters are known for losing drastic amounts of weight before their fights, Harrison told MMAFighting.com's Ariel Helwani that there was no possibility of her safely making the 135-pound weight limit.

Harrison will be making her on-air debut for WSOF at the organizations Dec. 31 event at Madison Square Garden, reports USA Today. She will not be competing during that event, and told USA Today that she'll need at least another year of training before stepping in for her professional debut.

Read more about Harrison's announcement here.

Image Credit: US Olympic Committee