Kayla Harrison is the current bantamweight champion of the UFC after her impressive victory over Julianna Pena on Saturday. The 34-year-old Olympic gold medalist is the real deal!
She, like many/most fighters, had to drop a lot of weight to get the title fight and apparently used nicotine pouches to do so.
Harrison is not new to Mixed Martial Arts but she is newer to the UFC. The 5-foot-8 American won back-to-back gold medals in women’s judo at the Olympic Games in London and Rio, as well as at the World Championships in 2010, among others. Her 19-1 record in the Professional Fighters League and Ultimate Fighting Championship also speaks for itself.
Dana White announced the signing of Kayla Harrison in late January of 2024 with a big-splash fight against Holly Holm. The former submitted the latter by naked choke submission in the second round.
Her debut was in April. Harrison returned to the octagon against Ketlen Vieira in October and won by unanimous decision. She smothered her.
That leads us to UFC 316. Harrison won the bantam belt with a kimura submission.
However, the fight almost didn’t happen. Kayla Harrison was on the verge of quitting because she could not get her weight to 135 pounds.
Unbelievable. Kayla Harrison breaks down her brutal weight cut in order to make championship weight at 135lbs:
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 9, 2025
"It's not good… I don't know really how else to explain it. I don't think that anyone can really understand that process unless they have gone through it.
For 15… pic.twitter.com/CgXCfbjQ2a
I don’t know exactly how much weight she had to cut but it was the first time she had to cut to 135 instead of 136. One pound made a huge difference.
Only God can get that last pound off of me, I can’t do it. I’m not strong enough, it’s too hard. You’ve got to go to a bad place.
— Kayla Harrison
A side-by-side comparison photo of the two different weights is astonishing— especially considering Harrison used to compete at 155 just a couple of years ago. So how did she do it? Nicotine.
And it’s not just Zyn!
Nicotine is an appetite suppressant. I would imagine the pouches also serve a similar purpose to ice cubes, which essentially tricks the brain into thinking you’re eating.
It can’t be healthy… but I guess nicotine pouches are the secret trick to losing that last pound… Don’t try this at home!