Two-time gold medalist Kayla Harrison to make MMA debut in 2018

Kayla Harrison will become perhaps the most decorated Olympic athlete to compete in MMA when she debuts with the Professional Fighters League in February.

Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times reported the story on Thursday on Twitter, and MMAFighting.com confirmed it with her manager, Ali Abdelaziz.

Harrison captured gold medals in judo in the over 78 kilogram division in both the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. She was a regular training partner of Ronda Rousey through 2012 when both were members of the U.S. Olympic judo team.

Harrison, 26, won her first world championship in judo in 2010. She signed with World Series of Fighting last October and has done commentary for the promotion.

WSOF changed formats and ownership and is now the PFL, and has its first show scheduled for Friday night at about 10:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network in Daytona, Fla. The broadcast is in conjunction with the Coke Zero 400 at the Daytona International Speedway, headlined by longtime UFC top star Jon Fitch vs Brian Foster.

Abdelaziz said Harrison’s debut wouldn't be part of a tournament, the new format PFL has stated it would be built around, and instead would just be a one-off fight.