Meet Kayla Harrison: This Two Time Olympic Judo Gold Medallist Is Now A Multi-Millionaire MMA Champion

After winning back to back gold medals in Judo at both 2012 and 2016¡¯s Olympics, US¡¯ Kayla Harrison got hit by depression. With ambitions dissolved, she had become a couch potato. But then she turned to mixed martial arts which has now led to her current transformation as an MMA champion and multi millionaire.

The Struggle After Olympic Glory

USAToday Sports

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The 31-year-old two-time Olympic champion told BBC "I didn't set an alarm, I didn't leave my house, I hadn't watched TV in years and all of a sudden I'm six seasons deep in all these Netflix shows. It was bad. It was like in the movies where you see the guy who has broken up with his girlfriend and he just has trash everywhere. That's how I probably looked, I was just a mess."

It was then that she discovered mixed martial arts. According to the American gold medalist, her fire for MMA might even burn more ardently now than her love of judo, which began at the age of six.

There¡¯s absolutely been no stopping this superwoman since then. She dominated the Professional Fighters League (PFL) lightweight division in the 2019 and 2021 seasons, twice pocketing the $1m prize, as per BBC.

"I'm a big believer in doing something that sets your soul on fire. I'm much more of a doer. I don't just watch people, I like to go do things," she adds.

The Transformation

"So, about six months after the Olympics I went to a local gym in Boston and started doing some Muay Thai, had my first sparring session and that was such an eye-opener for me. I was like, man, this is really hard. Getting punched in the face hurts. That was it and I was like, I've got to fight, I've got to at least try it. I can't live my life with a 'what if' hanging over me."

This has transformed her.

An Inspiration For Everyone

She further says "My legacy, I feel, will not only be what I do in the cage but how I carry myself outside the cage, what my children go on to do with their lives and the impact I can have on young girls and women in sport.

"I was sexually abused by my first coach and I'm very public about it. I have a foundation, I wrote a book and I'm very open about speaking about it".

"I refuse to be a victim. I want to help other survivors of sexual abuse and it started as that. But the more I speak and share my story the more I realize that, so badly in our society and in our world, we crave real heroes."

Truly, she indeed is an inspiration for many!

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