Kayla Harrison survived sex abuse to win Olympic gold. She's now a UFC champ with a mega fight ahead

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Around her neck or around her waist, Kayla Harrison has a knack for winning gold.

One key distinction, of course, between the Olympics and professional mixed martial arts is what happens in the immediate aftermath of a monumental victory — there is no four-year wait for the next fight.

The next challenger is ready for a confrontation inside the MMA cage.

Harrison barely had minutes to cool down after a dominant submission win earned her the 135-pound championship — in front of a packed house that included President Donald Trump and former boxer Mike Tyson — when she called out the seemingly retired, former champion and 2025 UFC Hall of Fame inductee Amanda Nunes.

“I see you Amanda! Come on up, Amanda,” Harrison bellowed from the cage.

Nunes stepped out of retirement and into the fray, the two former training partners shook hands and exchanged a few pleasantries before the fighters struck a fierce, staredown pose.

Just a little something for the poster.

“It felt big,” UFC President Dana White said.

The moment indeed felt like the kickoff for something special, one more super fight for Harrison in a career sprinkled with them over different fight disciplines, fight promotions — almost always with the same result.

Harrison’s hand raised in victory.

“Everything I ever wanted is happening,” she said.

Her biggest reward, in an adulthood full of professional triumphs, came Saturday night at UFC 316 at the Prudential Center when she made 135-pound champion Julianna Peña quit late in the second round to win a championship in only her third UFC fight.

She’s used to proving she’s a champion at the highest level, from the Olympics to the cage, leaving only destruction in her wake.

No U.S. judoka — man or woman — had ever won an Olympic gold medal before Harrison beat Britain’s Gemma Gibbons to win the women’s 78-kilogram division at the 2012 London Olympics. She won gold again four years later at the Rio de Janeiro Games and made her MMA debut in 2018.

The 34-year-old Harrison was a two-time $1 million prize champion in the Professional Fighters League lightweight championship division before she moved on to UFC last year. She won her first two UFC bouts and her record — now a sparkling 19-1 in MMA overall — coupled with her fame made her a contender for an instant title shot.

Through it all, Harrison has been open about the years of physical and mental abuse inflicted by a former coach leading into the Olympics. She was victimized as a teen, revealing she even thought of quitting judo and of suicide. Harrison turned to her deep faith — “I trust God” — that has steadied her along the way and she wrote a book about recognizing and overcoming trauma.

She’s turned into an advocate of sorts for abuse, and as the best active female MMA fighter continues to elbow her way into the public eye, Harrison speaks out candidly and without shame about her experience.

“I’m well removed from it,” she said. “I’m no longer that 10-year-old girl, that 16-year-old little girl. I’m an adult now. I feel like God gave me this story for a reason. It’s my job to use it to try and make the world a better place. I want to talk about it.”

Harrison reeled off grim child abuse statistics and noted, “that’s just the kids who say something.”

“How do we stop that? We stop it by having a conversation,” Harrison said. “We stop it by looking at it in the eye and putting a face to it.”

That face is now one of an elite MMA champion.

“I don’t ever want another little girl or little boy to feel alone, to feel dirty, to feel ashamed,” Harrison said. “There is hope. There is a shiny gold medal at the end of the tunnel. There is a UFC belt at the end of the tunnel.”

Harrison made quick work of Peña — who authored one of the great upsets in UFC history when she stunned Nunes for the belt in 2021 — to add another championship to her fight collection.

Harrison took a page from her judo career before the bout and bowed to Trump as a sign of respect. White, the long-time Trump ally, fastened the belt around Harrison’s waist inside the cage and encouraged her to say hello to the president.

She hopped down from the cage and draped her belt over Trump’s shoulder as he stood from his cageside seat. They hugged and she posed for photos with the president and his entourage.

“The president of the United States is giving me a kiss on my cheek and I’m like, holy (cow),” Harrison said. “And then Mike Tyson is right there! I’m like, am I in a movie right now? What is happening?”

She later pitched a trip to the White House as is customary for other sports champions.

Harrison seemed like she’d rather grind through another grueling weight cut than answer which path was tougher, winning Olympic gold or an MMA title. She conceded picking a winner was like picking a favorite child, before noting “I don’t have any favorite children.”

Harrison, of course, is proud to have lived her MMA dream as a single mom and playfully threatened to scold her daughter and son if they were up past midnight to watch her go to work.

Tragedy struck in late 2019 when Harrison’s mother had a stroke and her stepfather died months later, leaving Harrison’s young niece and nephew without a guardian (her sister was out of the picture).

Harrison became an instant caretaker — and, a mother as she eventually adopted both children.

How about it, Harrison vs. Nunes in the main event of a UFC pay-per-view?

“I’m a mom,” Harrison said, laughing. “The earlier you put me on the card, the better.”

Nunes, who vacated the 135-pound title when she retired in 2023, is not currently in the UFC’s drug testing pool. She needs at least six months of random drug testing before she can compete.

It’s a minor hiccup and only builds the hype and anticipation for the bout.

“We’re definitely going to see each other in the future,” Nunes told Harrison inside the cage.

Harrison tapped the UFC championship belt that rested on a news conference table and realized it meant much more than some polished gold that was just wrapped around her waist. What’s ahead for Harrison — a super fight, greater riches, maybe even a trip to the White House — pales to what she endured on her journey toward staking her claim as the best in the world.

“I feel like my spirit is unbreakable and my faith is unshakable,” she said. “Who I am as a person is someone that I’m proud of. Yes, this belt is amazing. But the journey to get here is what matters most to me.”

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Kayla Harrison, right, punches Julianna Peña during the second round of a women's bantamweight bout at the UFC 316 mixed martial arts event Sunday, June 8, 2025 in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Kayla Harrison, right, grapples with Julianna Peña during the second round of a women's bantamweight bout at the UFC 316 mixed martial arts event Sunday, June 8, 2025 in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Kayla Harrison celebrates after winning her women's bantamweight bout against Julianna Peña at the UFC 316 mixed martial arts event Sunday, June 8, 2025 in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

President Donald Trump congratulates Kayla Harrison after winning her women's bantamweight bout against Julianna Pena during the UFC-316 mixed martial arts event, at the Prudential Center, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Manuel Ceneta)

Kayla Harrison, left, talks to Amanda Nunes after her women's bantamweight bout against Julianna Peña at the UFC 316 mixed martial arts event Sunday, June 8, 2025 in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

U.S. President Donald Trump says Iran has proposed negotiations after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic as an ongoing crackdown on demonstrators has led to hundreds of deaths.

Trump said late Sunday that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports mount of increasing deaths and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night.

Iran did not acknowledge Trump’s comments immediately. It has previously warned the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has accurately reported on past unrest in Iran, gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran cross checking information. It said at least 544 people have been killed so far, including 496 protesters and 48 people from the security forces. It said more than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

The Latest:

A witness told the AP that the streets of Tehran empty at the sunset call to prayers each night.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, addressed “Dear parents,” which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

—- By Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Iran drew tens of thousands of pro-government demonstrators to the streets Monday in a show of power after nationwide protests challenging the country’s theocracy.

Iranian state television showed images of demonstrators thronging Tehran toward Enghelab Square in the capital.

It called the demonstration an “Iranian uprising against American-Zionist terrorism,” without addressing the underlying anger in the country over the nation’s ailing economy. That sparked the protests over two weeks ago.

State television aired images of such demonstrations around the country, trying to signal it had overcome the protests, as claimed by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier in the day.

China says it opposes the use of force in international relations and expressed hope the Iranian government and people are “able to overcome the current difficulties and maintain national stability.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday that Beijing “always opposes interference in other countries’ internal affairs, maintains that the sovereignty and security of all countries should be fully protected under international law, and opposes the use or threat of use of force in international relations.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned “in the strongest terms the violence that the leadership in Iran is directing against its own people.”

He said it was a sign of weakness rather than strength, adding that “this violence must end.”

Merz said during a visit to India that the demonstrators deserve “the greatest respect” for the courage with which “they are resisting the disproportional, brutal violence of Iranian security forces.”

He said: “I call on the Iranian leadership to protect its population rather than threatening it.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman on Monday suggested that a channel remained open with the United States.

Esmail Baghaei made the comment during a news conference in Tehran.

“It is open and whenever needed, through that channel, the necessary messages are exchanged,” he said.

However, Baghaei said such talks needed to be “based on the acceptance of mutual interests and concerns, not a negotiation that is one-sided, unilateral and based on dictation.”

The semiofficial Fars news agency in Iran, which is close to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, on Monday began calling out Iranian celebrities and leaders on social media who have expressed support for the protests over the past two weeks, especially before the internet was shut down.

The threat comes as writers and other cultural leaders were targeted even before protests. The news agency highlighted specific celebrities who posted in solidarity with the protesters and scolded them for not condemning vandalism and destruction to public property or the deaths of security forces killed during clashes. The news agency accused those celebrities and leaders of inciting riots by expressing their support.

Canada said it “stands with the brave people of Iran” in a statement on social media that strongly condemned the killing of protesters during widespread protests that have rocked the country over the past two weeks.

“The Iranian regime must halt its horrific repression and intimidation and respect the human rights of its citizens,” Canada’s government said on Monday.

Iran’s foreign minister claimed Monday that “the situation has come under total control” after a bloody crackdown on nationwide protests in the country.

Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim.

Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.

Iran’s foreign minister alleged Monday that nationwide protests in his nation “turned violent and bloody to give an excuse” for U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene.

Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim, which comes after over 500 have been reported killed by activists -- the vast majority coming from demonstrators.

Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.

Iran has summoned the British ambassador over protesters twice taking down the Iranian flag at their embassy in London.

Iranian state television also said Monday that it complained about “certain terrorist organization that, under the guise of media, spread lies and promote violence and terrorism.” The United Kingdom is home to offices of the BBC’s Persian service and Iran International, both which long have been targeted by Iran.

A huge crowd of demonstrators, some waving the flag of Iran, gathered Sunday afternoon along Veteran Avenue in LA’s Westwood neighborhood to protest against the Iranian government. Police eventually issued a dispersal order, and by early evening only about a hundred protesters were still in the area, ABC7 reported.

Los Angeles is home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran.

Los Angeles police responded Sunday after somebody drove a U-Haul box truck down a street crowded with the the demonstrators, causing protesters to scramble out of the way and then run after the speeding vehicle to try to attack the driver. A police statement said one person was hit by the truck but nobody was seriously hurt.

The driver, a man who was not identified, was detained “pending further investigation,” police said in a statement Sunday evening.

Shiite Muslims hold placards and chant slogans during a protest against the U.S. and show solidarity with Iran in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Activists carrying a photograph of Reza Pahlavi take part in a rally supporting protesters in Iran at Lafayette Park, across from the White House, in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Activists take part in a rally supporting protesters in Iran at Lafayette Park, across from the White House in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Protesters burn the Iranian national flag during a rally in support of the nationwide mass demonstrations in Iran against the government in Paris, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)