Daniel Cormier was impressed with the impact Kayla Harrison had upon joining the UFC roster.
Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC), who signed with the UFC earlier this year, went 2-0 in 2024 with wins over former champion Holly Holm at UFC 300 and top contender Ketlen Vieira at UFC 307.
Harrison didn’t just debut in the octagon, but she debuted in a new weight class, making 135 pounds twice – despite admittedly struggling to cut down. That’s why Cormier picked the two-time Olympic gold medalist judoka as his Female Fighter of the Year.
“I say Kayla Harrison because she’s beaten Holly Holm and then she beat Ketlen Vieira, who was one of the best women we’ve seen in this division in a really long time, perhaps on the short list of people who could fight for the belt next,” Cormier said on “Good Guy/Bad Guy” with Chael Sonnen. “I thought that coming into an organization with expectations, with a lot of praise, with a lot of pressure, and then delivering as she did is very important.
“It’s so good that Kayla Harrison was able to do that, but not only do that, but earn a championship opportunity. It’s a tremendous fight. She’s a tremendous fighter. She has overcome – but what else can we expect? She’s an Olympic champion two times. There is no level of pressure that will get to Kayla Harrison. She’s shown it that she can compete if she cannot get takedowns and be physically dominant. She’s shown that she has a championship mindset.”
Cormier’s co-host, Chael Sonnen, also picked Harrison as his female Fighter of the Year. Cormier mentioned UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili but acknowledged that fighting once this year isn’t enough.
Surprisingly, neither Cormier nor Sonnen mentioned Dakota Ditcheva, who went 4-0 en route to winning the $1 million PFL flyweight tournament. Ditcheva won MMA Junkie’s 2024 Female Fighter of the Year.
