Kayla Harrison to fight Julia Budd at PFL World Championship on Nov. 24
Kayla Harrison is set to return against another former champion.
The PFL announced Wednesday that Harrison (15-1) is set to fight Julia Budd (17-6) at the league’s season-closing PFL World Championship Event on Nov. 24, which takes place at The Anthem in Washington D.C. This marks Harrison’s first fight since losing to rival Larissa Pacheco in the finals of the 2022 lightweight tournament last November.
See the video announcement below.
@KaylaH faces @JuliaBudd at the #PFLWorldChampionship on November 24th pic.twitter.com/8I8WhsWOD3
— PFL (@PFLMMA) September 13, 2023
Before her loss to Pacheco, Harrison won her first 15 pro fights following an illustrious judo career that saw her become the first American to win an Olympic gold medal in the sport at the 2012 London games, followed by another gold medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She captured two PFL tournament crowns at 155 pounds before losing to Pacheco after previously defeating the Brazilian twice.
The Nov. 24 clash with Budd is being billed as a 145-pound showcase fight. It was previously announced that Harrison was one of the first names to be included in the league’s super fight series, which exists outside of its standard regular season and tournament format.
Budd, a former Bellator featherweight champion, has had a disappointing PFL run so far. The Canadian veteran is just 2-3 in the SmartCage since making her debut in 2021 and a highly anticipated bout with Harrison that was supposed to take place last July was cancelled when Budd was forced to withdraw due to injury.
The PFL World Championship event also features six championship finals, where the winners will take home a $1,000,000 prize in addition to a tournament title.
See current lineup below (bout order to be determined):
Kayla Harrison vs. Julia Budd
Clay Collard vs Olivier Aubin-Mercier — Lightweight Championship
Sadibou Sy vs Magomed Magomedkerimov — Welterweight Championship
Renan Ferreira vs Denis Goltsov — Heavyweight Championship
Larissa Pacheco vs Marina Mokhnatkina — Women’s Featherweight Championship
Jesus Pinedo vs Gabriel Braga — Men’s Featherweight Championship
Josh Silveira vs Impa Kasanganay — Light Heavyweight Championship