Kayla Harrison‘s sittin’ atop the MMA world … and the newly topped girls’s bantamweight champ is speaking all issues UFC 316 and past — from her insane weight minimize to her subsequent struggle vs. Amanda Nunes!

34-year-old Harrison joined Babcock on the “TMZ Sports activities” TV present (airs nightly on FS1) … simply days after she dominated now-former champ Julianna Pena within the co-main occasion, successful by second-round submission.

We requested her — with a few days to digest the big accomplishment — how she was feelin’?

“It nonetheless feels very surreal. Like, in simply the truth that it is one thing I’ve wished for therefore lengthy and yeah, realizing a dream, it feels loopy,” Kayla mentioned of reaching the mountaintop.

On the similar time, the bantamweight strap would not straighten up the home, or feed the children … that means the champ is already again on mommy responsibility. Actually, Kayla informed us she was within the “center of doing laundry” after we spoke.

And whereas chores aren’t anybody’s concept of a good time, her little ones are most vital to Kayla.

“I am so blessed to have [Emery and Kyla]. I feel typically about they’re the actual prize. If I had been coming house with a UFC belt to an empty home, the considered that makes me wish to cry. Like I am unable to even think about my life with out them. And so, yeah, they’re the prize.”

As for the precise struggle, Harrison made gentle work of Pena … which is tremendous spectacular contemplating how harmful Julianna is inside an Octagon.

“I understand how robust Juliana is. This lady beat Amanda. I anticipated 25 laborious minutes. I actually mentally ready for that,” Harrison informed us, saying her early success within the struggle “felt too good to be true.”

“Even within the first spherical, I felt like I had alternatives to unleash, however I type of informed myself, ‘hear, 25 minutes is a very long time. Let’s tempo ourselves. Let’s be good.’ What if she comes out weapons blazing and what if there’s one thing lacking right here?” Kayla mentioned of her mindset Saturday evening.

Then, within the second spherical, the champ says she “type of misplaced observe of time” earlier than she heard the sign indicating 10 seconds remained … “and I used to be like, ‘f*** it.'”

And, identical to that … Kimura, faucet, and new!

The toughest a part of the entire struggle week was the burden minimize … the primary time Kayla needed to get all the way down to 135 (she beforehand needed to clear 136, and that pound makes a helluva distinction).

“I feel it is simply belief and give up and also you gotta have religion as a result of it’d make individuals uncomfortable, however there’s simply no means in hell that I can do it on my own. I’m not mentally sturdy sufficient. My thoughts wished to stop. And my physique was fairly shut. That was all God. That was all God.”

Now, Harrison (after every week of “enjoyable with the children”), will shift her focus to Nunes … in what is going to finally be the most important struggle within the historical past of girls’s MMA.

“I really cannot wait to be again within the fitness center. I’ve no accidents. I really feel good. I feel Amanda has to get again into the drug testing pool. After which I would like her to be ‘The Lioness.’ I wish to face the perfect Amanda Nunes ever. So, the balls in her courtroom!”