(This story first appeared on For The Win , a fellow USA TODAY Sports site.) CHICAGO — Wearing a pair of flip flops, Kayla Harrison hops over puddles as rain flits down onto State Street and the men and women making their Friday morning commute. About 13 hours earlier, Harrison had been down the street, locked in a cage at the Chicago Theatre, taking on her first MMA opponent. She has a small cut on her lip, but it’s hardly noticeable as she sips her iced coffee. Not that anything about her is noticeable to the people in this Starbucks; she’s fit, yes, and wearing MMA gear, but nobody stops to look at her. She’s an Olympic gold medalist who broke barriers for her country, but that has only ever lent her minimal celebrity
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Inside Kayla Harrison’s journey from Olympic gold medalist to MMA’s next hope – MMA Junkie