Kayla Harrison has some bold words for one of the best Lightweight fighters in the history of the sport, Khabib Nurmagomedov. In a recent interview with TMZ that was uploaded to their official YouTube channel, she made the announcement that she is ‘100% sure’ that she would beat Nurmagomedov in a Judo match. Of course, she is a two-time Olympic champion and one of the best female grapplers on the planet, so it’s not all that far-fetched.
Both her and Nurmagomedov have spent the majority of their MMA careers competing at 155lbs, but she has managed to go as low as 145 whereas Nurmagomedov has famously had trouble making weight during the earlier stages of his UFC career. Factor the weight difference in alongside the natural strength advantages that come from being a man and the odds start to tip towards the Dagestani. It’s not as if he’s only ever had grappling experience in an MMA setting either as he’s a black belt and international master of sport in Judo, alongside being a two-time Combat Sambo world champion.
Obviously a match between the pair would never be sanctioned by any governing body and Khabib Nurmagomedov has been retired for quite some time now, but even if both of those obstacles could somehow be overcome, a fight against Kayla Harrison is still never going to happen. Famously, Nurmagomedov is not actually keen on women fighting at all and received resounding applause in Saudi Arabi back in 2018 when he said:
“For female, I have very good advice. Be fighter inside your home.”
