Did Kayla Harrison make weight for UFC 316? Side-by-side look at championship mark against bantamweight limit

Jesse Holland is among the longest-tenured media professionals in the combat sports news space, covering MMA, professional wrestling and boxing on a full-time basis since early 2004.

Kayla Harrison cleared her final hurdle on Friday morning ahead of the UFC 316 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event, hitting the championship weight of 135 pounds. So too, did reigning bantamweight champion Julianna Pena, making their five-round title fight official for Sat. night (June 7, 2025) at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

For complete UFC 316 weigh ins results and video click here.

There have been several stages of Harrison’s weight across her MMA career. Capturing the lightweight championship for PFL several years back, the two-time Olympic gold medalist also competed at featherweight for Invicta FC before cutting all the way down to bantamweight for her UFC debut, with 136 pounds serving as the allowable limit.

Championship contests, however, must return the exact weight of 135.

“She’ll do whatever it takes,” Coach Mike Brown told MMA Fighting. “She is as committed as any athlete comes and I mean one of the biggest hurdles for her is the weight. She would rather fight at a larger weight and I think she’d be even better at a bigger weight but they don’t have it unfortunately.”

“She’s willing to do whatever it takes to be the best,” Brown continued. “If they want her to cut to 135, she’ll cut to 135. If they want her to cut to 125, she’ll cut to 125. She’ll do whatever it takes to show the world that she’s the best. She’s the best in the world. It’s time to show everybody.”

We’ll see if Brown is right this weekend in “The Garden State.”

LIVE! Watch UFC 316 PPV On ESPN+ Here!

CHAMPIONSHIP DOUBLE-DIP! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) continues its 2025 pay-per-view (PPV) schedule on Sat., June 7, 2025, with a championship doubleheader headlining UFC 316 from Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. In UFC 316’s PPV main event, Bantamweight roost-ruler, Merab Dvalishvili, defends his title against former division champion, Sean O’Malley, in a highly-anticipated five-round rematch. UFC 316’s PPV co-main event features women’s Bantamweight titleholder, Julianna Pena, facing off against two-time Olympic gold medalist, Kayla Harrison, in a thrilling five-round clash. UFC 316 will also showcase a 135-pound showdown between Patchy Mix vs. Mario Bautista, as well as a Welterweight bout pitting Vicente Luque vs. Kevin Holland and much more! UFC 316’s start time is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET (“Early Prelims”), 8 p.m. ET (“Prelims” undercard) and 10 p.m. ET (PPV main card).

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MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 316 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ preliminary card matches at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the UFC 316 PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 316: “Dvalishvili vs. O’Malley 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 316 fight card and PPV lineup click here.