Hormonally, it's not good'… Kayla Harrison warned of dangers of dramatic weight cut by former UFC title challenger 

03/19/2025 07:40 AM

Kayla Harrison has been strongly advised against continuing to cut down to 135lbs as she continues to pursue the UFC title.

When the UFC signed Harrison at the beginning of 2024, it was widely regarded as one of the biggest signings the promotion has made in the last decade.

The former PFL star then debuted at the monumental UFC 300, finishing Holly Holm in the second round and announcing herself as a real threat in the women’s bantamweight division.

Her second outing in the promotion didn’t go as smoothly as the first, as Harrison was cut open by Ketlen Vieira despite going on to pick up the unanimous decision win.

Megan Anderson warns Kayla Harrison of the dangers of continuing to cut to 135lbs

Ahead of her fight at UFC 307, Harrison revealed that she had been ‘peeing blood’, which raised a lot of concern amongst the community along with expert nutritionists.

Kayla Harrison has always fought at 145 and 155lbs and so when the UFC disbanded the women’s featherweight division, it left her with only one option.

However, she has been warned of the dangers of continuing to cut to 135lbs by former title challenger, Megan Anderson.

“The caviat for me with Kayla is, just because you can make the weight, doesn’t always mean you should,” Anderson told MMAFighting.

“For women, these big weight cuts, hormonally it’s not good. So even if she does go out there, she dominated Julianna (Pena), or it’s a back and forth battle and she ends up becoming the champion, I don’t see her fighting for too much longer.

“It’s the toll on the body, it’s the quality of life, I know for a fact that weight cut is miserable for her because I know 145lbs was miserable for me… She has to start preparing three months out for that weight cut because it’s so big for her,” she continued.

When will Kayla Harrison vs Julianna Pena happen?

Out of camp, Harrison has been known to get as heavy as 170lbs, which makes for a devastatingly brutal weight cut.

Despite that, the 34-year-old seems to be gearing up for a title fight against champion, Julianna Pena, with the two locked into a longtime feud with each other.

There have been continuous talks that the two will meet at some point this year, however, Pena is seemingly still out recovering from an injury, leaving the potential date for that clash unknown.