Sarah Kaufman and Kayla Harrison are both competing in the second season of the Professional Fighters League, with both in the running to win the inaugural women?s lightweight championship.
Harrison is arguably the biggest star in the PFL and Kaufman believes she is getting preferential treatment from the promotion.
?Oh absolutely Kayla?s getting preferential treatment,? Kaufman said to MMA Fighting. ?I knew that coming in. I knew that while I?m in there. Given that I?m currently ranked No. 1 in the division and she?s going to be the co-main event, I mean you see that for what it is and I don?t care. Because at the end of the day, it doesn?t matter if you get preferential treatment, if you don?t win the fight, and I win the $1 million dollars and then I?ll get the preferential treatment. I?ll keep putting the pressure on her and my own pressure on myself but definitely, I think they try to find the matchups that would be the best for Kayla going into the second round to try and ensure that she gets the finish.?
Kaufman and Harrison both return to action at PFL Season 2, Event 4 this month, with Harrison facing Morgan Frier and Kaufman faces Roberta Paim Samad.
Even though Harrison is still undefeated as a professional MMA fighter, one thing Kaufman believes is that fighter still has a lot of holes in her game.
?She fought very well. I know she was disappointed with how she did in terms of not getting the finish. It showed the world that she was very upset with that. I mean it was a dominant win but there were definitely things that you can tell she?s still pretty green to MMA,? Kaufman said. ?She?s had a ton of experience in judo, which I?ve had minimal experience. I?ve done some judo classes but in terms of competitive experience and matches, she?s performed at the highest level at the Olympics and won there twice. So that is years of martial arts discipline and training that she carries into this, which I think is great. But in the cage, it is different. While she did some good things, she also opened herself up for some other things. There are always small things you can fix.?
PFL Season 2, Event 4 takes place on Thursday, July 11 from the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey with Magomed Magomedkerimov and Chris Curtis headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on ESPN 2.