UFC 300 video: Kayla Harrison mauls Holly Holm, taps out former champ with rear-naked choke

Kayla Harrison couldn’t have written a better script for her octagon debut at UFC 300.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo made quite a statement by mauling Holly Holm on the ground, eventually putting the former champion away with a devastating rear-naked choke with the end coming at just 1:47 in the second round.

The performance answered all the concerns about Harrison fighting at bantamweight and facing off with stiffer competition in the UFC as she became just the third person in history to finish Holm by submission.

“It was an honor for me to share the octagon with her tonight,” Harrison said about Holm afterwards. “I want my title next. I don’t care if it’s Raquel [Pennington], I don’t care if it’s Julianna [Pena], by the end of the year, I will be UFC champion.”

An early clinch led to a throw from Harrison and an immediate reversal from Holm before the fighters worked their way back to the feet. Holm made a mistake trying to go for a takedown of her own with Harrison landing on top where she began unloading with huge punches and elbows.

Holm was stuck on her back with Harrison posturing up over top of her, falling back down with some massive strikes. With Holm stuck against the cage, Harrison maintained her position as she continued to hammer away until the first round ended.

It was rinse and repeat in the second round with Harrison nearly locking on a guillotine choke before dragging Holm back to the ground again. Holm looked like she was drowning in deep water with Harrison on top of her.

The assault continued until Harrison took the back and wasted no time slipping her arm under the chin to lock on the rear naked choke. The submission was only applied for a split second before Holm tapped, which showed the kind of power Harrison employed with her technique.

With the bantamweight division in desperate need of new star power, Harrison is just what the doctor ordered as she dispatched a former champion in Holm in impressive fashion. She’s already calling for a title shot and it doesn’t seem impossible that she might slide right into the next fight against reigning champion Raquel Pennington.