MMA star slams reporter for ‘pretty woman’ question

They may be about to step into the cage but that didn’t stop champion mixed martial artist Kayla Harrison taking a reporter to task for “disrespecting” her Kiwi opponent Genah Fabian.

During a media conference call ahead of their PFL semifinal showdown in Florida on Friday (AEST), a reporter referred to Fabian as a “pretty woman”, while also mispronouncing her name, on the way to asking if she planned to be the aggressor against the unbeaten Harrison.

After correcting his pronunciation, Fabian politely answered the question before Harrison turned the tables on the reporter and asked him why he felt the need to bring up her rival’s looks for no apparent reason.

“Hey, I got a question for you,” Harrison said. “If you were interviewing a guy, would you say to him after pronouncing his name wrong? Would you say, ‘Hey, by the way, you’re a really handsome guy, but oh, you can fight, too.’ Would you say that to a guy?

“No. You just base how you talk to them based off of their skill and based off of them as a human being. Not, ‘Oh, you’re a beautiful man.’

“I mean that’s pretty disrespectful. She’s a professional.”

That drew an apology from the reporter, who insisted he didn’t mean to disrespect Fabian.

But Harrison was having no part of it.

“Why would you say something like that,” she added.

A two-time Olympic gold medallist in judo and reigning PFL women’s lightweight champion, Harrison has become one of the biggest names in female mixed martial arts since transitioning to the sport in 2018.

But Fabian will be looking to take her career to the next level by handing the American her first MMA defeat when they meet in the main event of Friday’s card.

The winner will progress to the final of the lightweight tournament in October, where the eventual champion will take home US$1 million ($1.4m).

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