Kayla Harrison

Kayla Harrison is the most decorated judoka the United States has ever produced — two Olympic gold medals, in 2012 and 2016 — and she has spent her MMA career making that pedigree look like cheating. Now the UFC women's bantamweight champion, her 19-1 record includes two PFL season championships and a title-fight submission of the greatest of all time, Amanda Nunes' era notwithstanding.

The formula is brutally simple: elite judo entries into top position, crushing ground-and-pound, and a submission game (8 taps) that ends arguments. Opponents know the throw is coming. It comes anyway.

Her path to the UFC was the long way around — years dominating the PFL while critics questioned the level of competition, then a high-pressure divisional debut with everything to lose. She answered by running through the bantamweight top five and taking the belt.

At 36, with the judo credentials, the belt, and the aura, Harrison's remaining business is legacy: how many defenses, and whether anyone at 135 can genuinely threaten her. So far the answer to the second question has been no.