With an utterly dominant dismantling of Julianna Peña, Kayla Harrison took home more than just a piece of hardware.
Now Harrison (19-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) tops our women’s MMA pound-for-pound list after her submission of Peña (13-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) in the second round to win the 135-pound strap in the UFC 316 co-main event. Harrison was a two-time lightweight $1 million champion in the PFL and won two Olympic gold medals in judo. Now she has a title from MMA’s biggest promotion – and 20 pounds lower than the more comfortable natural weight she started her career at.
In the UFC 316 headliner, Merab Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC) put on a dominant display, as well, when he submitted ex-champ Sean O’Malley (18-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) in the third round of their rematch. Dvalishvili already was king of the hill at men’s bantamweight – but did O’Malley drop with the loss?
Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, June 10: Kayla Harrison No. 1