Sean O'Connell: 'Nobody else is going to pay Kayla Harrison what the PFL is paying her'

PFL broadcaster Sean O'Connell thinks it’s in both the PFL and Kayla Harrison’s benefit to continue working together.

Reigning PFL champ Harrison (11-0) is a free agent at the end of this season, and the two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo will be one of the most sought-after fighters on the market.

Harrison previously claimed she’s open to re-signing with PFL if the promotion comes to the table and offers her “life-changing money,” but O’Connell doesn’t see any promotion paying her more.

“Kayla moves the needle,” O’Connell told MMA Junkie Radio. “People tune in to watch her fight. She is a compelling and dominant champion. She’s the most impressive athlete, man or woman, that we have on our roster, and you can make an argument she’s the most impressive combat sports athlete in two sports in the world right now. I think that she’s kind of admitted to herself that she probably needs to do a better job of selling her own fights and selling her own personality, and I think that heel turn of sorts is part of the way that she’s decided to do it.

“So she’s incredibly important, and I hope she runs her whole career through the PFL. That’s what I hope to see. But on the flip side of it, knowing the ballpark of what Kayla is making for a season of fighting in the PFL and an estimate of what she could be making elsewhere – we’re talking about her going to the UFC. It is no more important for the PFL’s future to keep Kayla than it is for Kayla’s future to stay with the PFL. Nobody else is going to pay Kayla Harrison what the PFL is paying her.”

Harrison’s dominance has had many questioning how she would fair against other greats in the sport like Bellator featherweight champ Cris Cyborg and UFC dual-champ Amanda Nunes, and while PFL’s level of competition hasn’t been too challenging for Harrison so far, O’Connell thinks re-signing is the best business move for her.

“I know she wants to check this box of, ‘I’m the greatest fighter on the planet’ and there’s only one woman (Nunes) she would have to beat that would test that, who happens to be her training partner – so that might not happen, anyway,” O’Connell said. “Kayla Harrison is going to be in high demand as a free agent, but no one values her more than the Professional Fighters League does.

“No one is going to pay her more than PFL is willing to pay her, and ultimately this is a business. And now that she’s the mom of two children, I know that financial security and making sure their future is set is more important to her than anything else, so I think that this is such a mutually beneficial relationship. It would be very unwise for the PFL to let her go anywhere else, and I think it would be very unwise for her to push the envelope to go somewhere.”

Harrison will seek her second straight championship when she faces Taylor Guardado (3-1) in the main event of the 2021 PFL Championship, which takes place Oct. 27 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. The main card airs on ESPN2 and streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN+

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