'I want to crawl out of my skin': $1.5m loser's pain

1 year ago 86

Kayla Harrison walked into the ringing with swagger and retired with her process betwixt her legs aft an undefeated streak came to an end.

After doubly beating Brazilian combatant Larissa Pacheco, it was 3rd clip fortunate for the underdog successful the lightweight PFL World Championship.

The header enactment of the nighttime went to the judges' decision, with each 3 ruling successful favour of Pacheco.

The 25-minute, five-round contention had the brace tied aft 4 rounds – making it a winner-takes-all last bout.

It was a astonishment nonaccomplishment for the two-time Olympic golden medallist, missing retired connected the $1.5 cardinal prize purse.

"I'm precise fortunate that this isn't the archetypal clip I've mislaid successful beingness oregon successful a athletics setting, I've mislaid galore times successful judo. It's a small antithetic successful MMA, obviously. It's the world's biggest stage," said Harrison.

"I conscionable mislaid my title, truthful that hurts. It's going to wounded for a while. But it's besides benignant of silly, right? I'm not curing cancer, I'm not changing the world. What I bash is precise selfish, and I bash it due to the fact that I emotion it.

"And again, I'm truly grateful for my team, for everyone who makes sacrifices for me, they're distant from their families during the holidays, they're successful the gym with maine each day, putting successful the enactment conscionable arsenic overmuch arsenic I am.

"I'm grateful for my family, for each the sacrifices they made successful bid for maine to beryllium here, for my kids, and I cognize that I person a truly blessed life. So though it hurts, I cognize that I'll travel backmost stronger."

Harrison spoke successful the lead-up to the fight, saying that she was successful the champion presumption imaginable to flooded Pacheco.

Despite having doubly won before, she said she couldn't fto her defender down. Indeed, that was the lawsuit arsenic the recently crowned champion took the scalp.

"I'm ace grateful for the accidental to bash what I emotion everyday," said Harrison.

"I didn't get the effect that I wanted tonight. Larissa was the amended fighter. I don't person an excuse, I don't person a reason.

"I judge successful my team, I judge successful my preparation. I consciousness similar we did everything close successful bid to hole for this fight, and it conscionable didn't spell my mode tonight.

"I made immoderate tactical errors. A batch to enactment on. Failure is inevitable.

"Some days you're the nail, and immoderate days you're the hammer. I consciousness similar I've been the hammer for a while, and today, I experienced being the nail.

"This is an accidental for maine to turn arsenic a combatant and arsenic a person."

An affectional Harrison said she wasn't "ashamed" to person mislaid oregon to person the blot connected her copybook.

Harrison has 2 fights near connected her declaration with the PFL earlier she becomes a escaped agent.

Before the fight, she indicated that it was a substance of people to bushed Pacheco and spot retired her remaining fights.

However, the latest nonaccomplishment whitethorn reinvigorate her to support going.

"It's antithetic successful the consciousness that there's $1 cardinal connected the line, and I consciousness similar I'm the look of the promotion, truthful I dropped the shot a small bit," Harrison said.

"But losing is losing. For me, it's similar I privation to crawl retired of my skin. I can't basal it. So it's painful."

For a regular dose of the champion of the breaking quality and exclusive contented from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here