Kayla Harrison has an opponent for New Year’s Eve.
MMA Fighting confirmed with sources that the two-time Olympic gold medal winning judoka will face Moriel Charneski in a lightweight bout at PFL 11 on Dec. 31 at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Harrison’s opponent was first reported by ESPN.
This will mark Harrison’s third foray into the cage after having her hand raised in her first two fights, a first-round armbar submission of Brittney Elkin in June and a third-round TKO of Jozette Cotton in August. The 28-year-old made the move to MMA following a wildly successful international judo career that saw her become the first American to win Olympic gold in the sport, which she did at the 2012 games in London. She repeated the feat four years later at the Rio Olympics.
Charneski (3-4) is coming off of a second-round TKO win against recent Invicta FC competitorSarah Patterson. She has also competed against The Ultimate Fighter 28 cast member Marciea Allen and one-time Invicta featherweight title challenger Pam Sorenson.
PFL 11 marks the culmination of the inaugural Professional Fighters League season, which was comprised of a regular season and playoffs. The year-end card will see six fighters earn a $1,000,000 prize and a division championship.
The updated card is as follows:
Josh Copeland vs. Philipe Lins
Vinny Magalhaes vs. Sean O’Connell
Louis Taylor vs. Abusupiyan Magomedov
Ray Cooper III vs. Magomed Magomedkerimov
Natan Schulte vs. Rashid Magomedov
Kayla Harrison vs. Moriel Charneski
