Double Olympic judo champion Kayla Harrison makes her MMA debut on Thursday in a Professional Fighters League event in Chicago, live on NBCSN, NBCSports.com/live and the NBC Sports app.
Harrison faces Brittney Elkin (3-4) in a 155-pound bout. It marks Harrison’s first competition since she repeated as Olympic gold medalist in the 172-pound division at the 2016 Rio Games.
Harrison, the only U.S. Olympic judo gold medalist, announced in October 2016 that she joined the MMA promotion as a commentator and brand ambassador, but not necessarily a fighter. A year ago, Harrison said she would compete.