PFL Chairman Donn Davis believes the current bitterness with Kayla Harrison is only a misunderstanding.
Harrison, a two-time Olympic gold medalist judoka, started her MMA profession within the PFL, preventing for the promotion for 5 years and profitable two light-weight tournaments and changing into the face of the group. However earlier this yr, Harrison lastly left her longtime promotion to leap over to the UFC.
Earlier this month, Harrison made her sophomore outing in her new promotion, preventing Ketlen Vieira at UFC 307, however previous to her combat, Davis made headlines by saying that he didn’t like that Harrison “ran from” potential fights with Cris Cyborg and Larissa Pacheco. Harrison, in fact, took offense and even Pacheco wasn’t happy with Davis’s remarks. However the PFL Chairman says the whole factor is a giant misunderstanding.
“What I mentioned had immense respect and immense context, however when it will get lower down in social media, was taken utterly out of context,” Davis advised MMA Preventing. “So I’ll attempt to re-put it in context once more, however I’m positive it is going to re-get lower out of context.
“To repeat, I solely mentioned three issues. One, we’re immensely proud that we developed her from scratch. She was one in every of my favourite fighters and I feel she’s one of many best fighters of all time within the ladies’s divisions. So to start with, Dana by no means says that.
“Quantity two, we made her a proposal to be extraordinarily excessive paid and to spend her complete profession right here, and to do something she wished. I’ve an enormous quantity of respect and mainly provided her a clean verify and a clean ticket, not simply economically however put up her profession. Dana by no means says that. That’s as a result of we wished her.
“And quantity three, we provided her greater fights right here than she has on the UFC. Cyborg, greater combat. Pacheco, greater combat. They’re greater than the 2 fights she simply had. No person would disagree with that. So why is she on the UFC? That’s what I mentioned.
“So these are the three issues I mentioned. These are all respectful, factual, and fairly easy. So why did she go to the UFC? I don’t know. I don’t perceive. I feel it needs to be there’s a model there that validates her and our model isn’t that huge but. In order that’s it. However nothing however very factual respect and really factual need that I want on fan’s behalf that we might have given the most important combat on the planet.”
For her half, Harrison has been very clear about why she wished to come back to the UFC, stating that she needs to win the title and cement her legacy in MMA. However Davis clearly believes Harrison might have finished so within the PFL.
“Now that Cyborg has clearly cemented her stature because the GOAT, everyone needs to see Kayla vs. Cyborg,” Davis mentioned. “It’s a much bigger combat than Kayla will ever have except Nunes comes out of retirement, and the one that stopped that’s Kayla.
“It doesn’t make me any cash placing on that combat, however I wished to place it on for followers. I’ve been making an attempt for 5 years and I couldn’t get Cyborg right here. Then I purchased the entire firm to get Cyborg right here, after which Kayla leaves! So I don’t perceive it and that’s all I’ve expressed.”
In the end although, Davis acknowledges that nevertheless he meant his feedback to come back out, they have been acquired very in another way. And whereas Davis doesn’t imagine he mentioned something untoward, he additionally admits that if he might return, he most likely wouldn’t have mentioned something in any respect.
“How I talked about this isn’t even near how Dana White talks about fighters. This isn’t remotely how he’s talked about Francis… And two, I most likely ought to have mentioned nothing, however I used to be making an attempt to elucidate the scenario. If I needed to do it over once more, my mistake. No good has come from it.
“I’ve no need to do something unfavourable about Kayla. I’ve no need to have a bunch of click on bait that’s unfavourable on the PFL. So my mistake saying something, making an attempt to place this in context. My sole purpose was actually to offer followers the most important combat in feminine historical past, Cyborg vs. Kayla. I spent — like Ahab on the good white whale — a lot power chasing this combat, to have it undergo my grasp, kills me. It kills me.”