Harrison, 34, was the Olympic gold medalist at 78kg (127 lbs.) at the 2012 London games, and repeated at Rio in 2016. The transition to mixed martial arts was seamless, as she went on to win the Professional Fighter League (PFL) 2019 and 2021 Women’s Flyweight tournaments, which subsequently earned her the division’s championship title.
Her only loss to date was to Larissa Pacheco in the finals of the 2022 PFL tournament, whom she had beaten twice during the 2019 run.
Pena came in as the two-time champion, having stunned Amanda Nunes at UFC 269 in December of 2021. Nunes won the rematch in dominant fashion, but Pena would regain the championship via a split decision win over Raquel Pennington in October at UFC 304.
Harrison signed with the UFC in January of 2024, but dropped down to bantamweight. With Valentina Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso lapping the field at flyweight, the opportunity for a title fight for Harrison would have to be pushed back. Erin Blachfield also looks to be in the mix to challenge Shevchenko within the next year, after her fight with top contender Macee Barber was called off just minutes before walkouts at UFC Fight Night on May 31.
Before Pena’s shocking submission of Nunes, the greatest upset in the history of the UFC’s women’s divisions occurred when Holly Holm knocked out previously-unbeaten Ronda Rousey. Holm would be Harrison’s first UFC opponent at UFC 300, which was a submission victory for Harrison in the second round. Next up was longtime UFC veteran Ketlen Vieria at UFC 307, who had three wins in her last four fights. Vieria’s only loss was to Pennington in a title-match eliminator at a Fight Night in January 2023.
Harrison won by unanimous decision, setting the stage for her shot against Pena on Saturday.
Pena talked much of the way into Saturday that she would be aggressive, but Harrison chased her around the edge of the octagon the entire fight. Pena was certainly the better striker, having a three-inch reach advantage. Harrison’s weight cut seemed brutal, having to come down nearly 15 points, but still looked massive next to Pena. Harrison’s game plan was to close the distance on the feet, so she could utilize the clench against the cage, and feed into her judo strengths.
Harrison was able to finally get into the clench just past the midway point of the first round. She was able to soften up Pena with knees to the body and thighs, which made the eventual takedown academic. Once Pena was able to pull enough of rubber and half guard where Harrison relented to standing up, Pena was docked a point by official Vitor Ribeiro for illegal upkicks. By rule, you cannot upkick an opponent in the face or throat while on your back, just like a standing opponent cannot do the same to a downed fighter. In truth, these were the only two meaningful strikes Pena landed the entire evening.
Harrison was able to finally get into the clench just past the midway point of the first round. She was able to soften up Pena with knees to the body and thighs, which made the eventual takedown academic. Once Pena was able to pull enough of rubber and half guard where Harrison relented to standing up, Pena was docked a point by official Vitor Ribeiro for illegal upkicks. By rule, you cannot upkick an opponent in the face or throat while on your back, just like a standing opponent cannot do the same to a downed fighter. In truth, these were the only two meaningful strikes Pena landed the entire evening.
The point deduction gave the first round to Harrison 10-8 by default, already putting her up two rounds after just five minutes. Pena would have to rebound and either finish Harrison, or dominate the remaining four rounds.
It would take all Harrison just moments to secure another takedown, dashing the hopes of the fight going to the judges for Pena.
To Pena’s credit, she never allowed Harrison to pass her guard completely, but Harrison’s world class grappling was on full display, as she could do whatever she chose the rest of the round. With under a minute left in round two, Harrison was able to position Pena up against the cage, and moved to secure a head and arm choke. When she found that there were fewer than 20 seconds, and Pena could be saved by the horn, she transitioned to a kimura lock, prompting an immediate tap out by Pena.
Even with five seconds remaining, it would have taken just two seconds for Harrison to break Pena’s arm with their positioning. Announcers Joe Rogan and Jon Anik immediately brought up when Frank Mir broke the arm of Antonio “Big Nog” Nogueira in 2011. Mir became the first fighter to ever stop Nogueira, costing the Brazilian almost nine months of recovery.
Henry Cejudo was the only former Olympic gold medalist to have won a UFC championship until Saturday night. Remember that for as much as she was a trailblazer for women’s MMA, Ronda Rousey only won bronze at the Olympics.
Harrison and Pena prayed while embracing after the fight, and Harrison embarked on a lengthy post-match celebration and interview with Rogan.
More on that in a moment.
In the main event, men’s bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili and former champion Sean O’Malley met in a rematch of their title fight from October. O’Malley came in as champion, and left on the wrong end of a unanimous decision. This time around, Dvalishvili dominated from the opening, submitting O’Malley with a north-south choke at 3:46 of round three. O’Malley now has to go back to the drawing board, after being dominated by one of the all time greats in his last two outings. For someone that loves to see O’Malley be punched in the face as much as Jon Jones, this may have been more satisfying a result than Harrison’s win just minutes earlier.
In the main event, men’s bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili and former champion Sean O’Malley met in a rematch of their title fight from October. O’Malley came in as champion, and left on the wrong end of a unanimous decision. This time around, Dvalishvili dominated from the opening, submitting O’Malley with a north-south choke at 3:46 of round three. O’Malley now has to go back to the drawing board, after being dominated by one of the all time greats in his last two outings. For someone that loves to see O’Malley be punched in the face as much as Jon Jones, this may have been more satisfying a result than Harrison’s win just minutes earlier.
Both champions celebrated with their coaches in the cage, but then posed for pictures with “Taco 47,” who was in attendance the entire night. With the Dvalishvili fight ending just prior to 1 AM eastern time, I was most stunned that he was awake and coherent enough to stand still for five seconds while the pictures were being taken. That was okay, since he had a long Sunday of golf and napping once he got to Florida, since he spends maybe two days a week in Washington.
Harrison then turned her attention to Nunes, inviting security to let her come into the cage. “The Lioness” came face-to-face with Harrison, her teammate at American Top Team, shaking hands and hugging. Rogan asked the obvious question whether this meant the greatest fighter in women’s MMA history would be coming back, which Nunes acknowledged. Cyborg left the UFC to take on superfights in PFL and Bellator (before both companies merged a couple of years ago), but it would take Harrison jumping to the UFC to get the fight we all hoped for. At 37, Nunes has been retired for two years, having been inducted into the Modern Era wing of the UFC Hall of Fame in April 2025. Short of Dakota Ditcheva also leaving PFL for a dream fight with Shevchenko, the upcoming Harrison/Nunes fight may be one of the most anticipated in the history of women’s MMA.
“I have the belt, she has the legacy,” Harrison told Rogan after being presented with the championship. “Let's put it on the table.”
Nunes made a legacy out of hunting her opponents inside the cage. Now we have to see what happens when her next opponent may be the one capable of ending that legacy.
-JC24