Kayla Harrison questioned if she'd ever feel like herself again, even as recently as a few months ago. Now she's back to prove she's "that b*tch" at UFC 334.
In her first interview since her Nov. 14 bout vs. Amanda Nunes was announced, Harrison (19-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) detailed Monday the neck injury that knocked her out of their originally scheduled January meeting and the recovery that came thereafter.
"I feel awesome," Harrison said on "Deep Waters" podcast. "To be honest, it was rough at the beginning. I think more, obviously, physically but mentally. It was such a big surgery. I went 10 years without having a surgery. I had reconstructive knee surgery in between my two Olympics and then I went 10 years with no surgery. But in the last four years,
I've had four surgeries back-to-back-to-back. This one was the most serious. I was kind of just like, am I ever going to be OK again? It got to the point where I was questioning if I was ever going to feel like myself again. But I'm back. I'm back."
Harrison, 36, said she has been doing two-a-days or three-a-days since age 12. She's used to the wear-and-tear that comes with being a world-class athlete, but even she couldn't find the cheat code to avoid going under the knife.
"I was my trying to make it to my fight," Harrison said. "This was two weeks before I was supposed to fight Amanda. I can't lift my arm. I'm getting lightning bolts. The last five days, I think I slept like five hours. I'd fall asleep and the lightning bolts, it's the worst pain ever. Finally, UFC is like, go to New York. I flew to New York. The doctor looked at all the stuff. He was like, 'Yeah, you need surgery now. When do you want to have it?' I was like, 'As soon as possible.' I was in New York by myself. I Ubered to the hospital the next day. He was like, 'I'll see you at 6 a.m. tomorrow. I didn't know anything. I was just like, 'Get me out of pain and get me on the road to recovery as fast as you can.'"
The recovery was brutal. Harrison said she could not find anything to temper the pain. But with diligent rehab and following instructions from medical professionals, Harrison found her way out of a dark place.
"When I tell you I was doing everything I could to get to the fight, I was doing monthly stem cell injections," Harrison said. "I was doing PT rigorously. Then I started doing muscle relaxers. I didn't touch it. Then I was doing nerve pain pills. Then they gave me heavy duty pain pills, but nothing touched it."
Kayla Harrison has something to prove
Even though the date and location have changed, Harrison's next goal remains the same. Ahead of what many are saying could be the most high-profile and meaningful fight in women's mixed martial arts history, Harrison isn't taking into consideration the opinions of others. She's more concerned about proving something to herself.
"I can't believe this is my life sometimes," Harrison said. "It's been a long journey and when I started MMA, this is what I wanted. I didn't come over just to dip my toe in the water. I didn't come over to just make money. I came over to challenge myself and to climb another mountain and to see how far I could go, and we're here. I can't wait for November 14th."
Is retirement coming soon for Kayla Harrison?
Regardless of the outcome, Harrison said she's proud of her career and all that she has accomplished. Harrison also admitted that she knows the time to retire is coming.
"I'm already satisfied," Harrison said. "Of course, I want this fight, but I'm satisfied with my career. I had to come to terms with that when I had neck surgery. It almost went back to like pre-kids. It's like, 'Are you able to love yourself if you don't reach all of your goals?' It's like, 'Are you still worthy of your own love, Kayla?' I am. I'm good with everything I've done. If I never fight again, I'm still a child of God with inherent worth and value. I'm a mom, I'm a daughter, I'm a friend, I'm good, but this is for me. This is about me. I love fighting. I thought I loved judo and then I met MMA. I love it so much.
"Our time is very short. You don't get to do this forever. I want to make the most of it. I had to fight like hell to get through this neck surgery. Just mentally to get back to a place of, 'Oh yeah, I am that b*tch.' This is for me. I don't need money. I don't care. We could do it at ATT. This is just for me. I want to go out there and see what I'm made of."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Kayla Harrison breaks silence on rigorous road to UFC 334, meaning of Amanda Nunes fight
