Two-time PFL champ Kayla Harrison will now face Kaitlin Young in the headliner of PFL 6 after an undisclosed injury to Julia Budd.
MMA Fighting confirmed the news of Budd’s withdrawal and Harrison’s new opponent with a person close to the fighters after an initial report from ESPN.com. PFL 6 takes place July 1 at OTE in Atlanta and airs on ESPN and ESPN+.
Young, a women’s MMA pioneer, returned to the active roster in 2018 after a stint behind the scenes as a matchmaker for InvictaFC. She’s since earned a record of 5-3, fighting in Rizin, the all-female Invicta and the PFL, where she was eliminated from the Season 3 lightweight post-season following a pair of setbacks.
Budd, a former Bellator featherweight champion, was to make her third PFL appearance and hoped to bounce back after a decision loss to Season 3 finalist Genah Fabian in her previous outing.
Young faces the steep task of handing Harrison her first professional MMA loss. The Olympic gold medal judoka has ravaged the field at 155 pounds and is returning for her third championship and $1 million prize after a brief period of free agency.