Kayla Harrison says she’s ‘like a female Khabib but better’

PFL women’s lightweight contender Kayla Harrison is fighting with so much confidence these days. The Olympic gold medalist judoka is a perfect 5-0 in MMA and has gone public in calling for a fight against Cris Cyborg. Now, she is on record comparing herself to arguably the best fighter in the sport, Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Harrison was recently interviewed by ESPN and asked who she would compare herself to. She said she believes she’s most like “The Eagle.”

“I would say I’m like a female Khabib, but better,” Harrison said.

In fact, Harrison believes she’s a better overall athlete than Nurmagomedov, and even believes she has superior submission skills.

“Listen, Khabib’s great. He’s an amazing wrestler. He used to do judo back in the day,” Harrison said. “But I feel that the world’s never seen an athlete like me. And my submission skills, I think, are just a tiny bit better than him.”

It does not appear that Harrison is trying to poke the bear with Nurmagomedov, who is also managed by Ali Abdelaziz. Rather, Harrison is trying to sell herself to newer fans of PFL, and she’s using Nurmagomedov’s name to do so. She says there’s no beef between the two, so fans shouldn’t assume there is a grudge based on her saying she’s better.

“I like (Khabib),” Harrison said.

Whether she’s a female Nurmagomedov or she’s just her own fighter, theres no doubt Harrison has been a force in MMA since making her pro debut just over a year ago. She is quickly becoming one of the most feared female MMA fighters on the planet and is going to need to be a big star for PFL if they hope to compete with the UFC on ESPN.

Do you think Kayla Harrison is right in comparing herself to Khabib Nurmagomedov?