Kayla Harrison Admits She’s ‘Depressed’ Not Taking Part in 2023 PFL Season

Not all that long ago, Kayla Harrison seemed ready to leave the grind of the Professional Fighters League season format in the rearview mirror at the conclusion of the 2022 campaign.

It appears that sentiment has changed.

Harrison revealed on "The MMA Hour" that she hoped to take part in the PFL’s 2023 season format. The two-time Olympic gold medalist won two PFL championships at 155 pounds before being upset by Larissa Pacheco in the 2022 final. It was Harrison’s first defeat in 16 professional MMA bouts.

“I wanted to be in the season,” Harrison said. “Of course I wanted to be in the season. The second the tournament was over, the second I lost, I wrote down my goals. I was like: ‘145-pound champ. Going to be in the season. Avenge my loss.’ I had all my key areas of focus, and that’s not in the cards for me. That’s not what they want to do. They want me to fight on the pay-per-view.

Harrison added that she has two fights remaining on her current PFL contract, which may have contributed to her being left out of the current season.

“I don’t know. I think I get paid a lot of money. I think that they feel like (the season format) is not the best way to utilize me. I think they want to put me on a pay-per-view card against a big name.”

The PFL will debut the women’s featherweight division on Friday with a card headlined by Pacheco vs. Julia Budd. Harrison, meanwhile, is left to await word on the league’s plans for its pay-per-view division.

“I’ve been a little bit depressed about it,” Harrison said. “It’s hard to watch something you helped build. No matter how awakened and peaceful I am, the world is still moving forward and I’m sitting right here. Sometimes that’s hard. I want to fight, I don’t just want to talk about fighting. I want to fight, so it’s frustrating.”