Long before Kayla Harrison plotted her way through UFC title fights, she did it on the floor of a Massachusetts high school gym with a notebook. This is 21-year-old Harrison alongside coach Jimmy Pedro at Pedro’s Judo Challenge on February 25, 2012. Pedro knew a little about what he was scribbling down. He was a two-time Olympic bronze medallist himself, while Harrison was already a world champion and about five months away from becoming the first American to win Olympic gold in judo. Fourteen years later, the notebook has unquestionably been upgraded. Harrison has added another Olympic gold, two PFL championships and UFC gold to the collection, and at 36 she is preparing to face Amanda Nunes in November. The 38-year-old Brazilian hasn’t fought since dominating Irene Aldana at UFC 289 in June 2023, so she’ll return after more than three years away. That makes their meeting an interesting collision of mileage as much as resumes. Nunes has spent three years outside competition, while Harrison’s own comeback comes with questions about age and time away. But this photograph is a handy reminder of the foundation beneath Harrison’s MMA career. Before the UFC, before the PFL and before anyone was discussing super fights, she spent years studying how to put people on their backs and did it at an Olympic gold-medal standard. Judging by the concentration on her face, even at 21, Harrison was already taking notes for what came next, which you get to enjoy on the 15^th of November.