Kayla Harrison, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo, was impressed by how quickly UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira got to grips with the martial art.
Both Harrison and Pereira have found significant success in mixed martial arts after originally making their names in other sports.
While the 34-year-old Ohio native followed two-time glory on the Olympic stage in judo with a pair of championships under the Professional Fighters League (PFL) banner, the Brazilian has added two UFC titles to a trophy cabinet that already boasted middleweight and light heavyweight Glory Kickboxing belts.
Thanks to Jake Paul’s recent callout, talk is currently floating around regarding a potential boxing crossover for “Poatan” in the future.
But judging by Harrison’s comments after hitting the mats with “Poatan” last month, a career in a grappling discipline is seemingly not that far-fetched…
Harrison Reflects On Training With UFC Peer Pereira
During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Harrison reflected on her training session with the UFC light heavyweight kingpin.
The bantamweight contender lauded how quickly Pereira was able to learn judo techniques. That no doubt adds context to how the Brazilian has been able to transition from kickboxing to mixed martial arts and achieve unprecedented success in less than three years under the UFC banner.
“He was showing me the videos of him training and he was kicking — dude, I wish he would release this one. Oh my god, he like, did the move I taught him and then did the move you do if the (first) move doesn’t work,” Harrison said. “I was like, ‘Dude, you look like a judo (athlete).’ It’s crazy how fast he picks stuff up. He looked like a legit judo (athlete).
“I also grappled with Alex. Dude, he’s a strong mothertrucker,” Harrison continued. “Obviously he didn’t really grapple with me, but I just felt his natural — f*cking fixing tyres must build like, a different kind of (strength).”
Harrison was in attendance at UFC 303 for Pereira’s second successful title defense. In the aftermath of the result, she jokingly wrapped a yellow belt — which is not usually given to adults — around “Poatan” backstage.
The former middleweight and reigning light heavyweight champ was previously awarded his legitimate black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu following his knockout of Hill at UFC 300.
