Joseph Hart 13 June 2025

 

The new MMA champ has credited ZYN nicotine pouches with helping her make weight for her recent bout. If peak-performance athletes are using nicotine as part of their preparation, have we been lied to about the “harms” of nicotine?

Who is Kayla Harrison?

Kayla Harrison is the real deal, both in and out of the ring. Firstly, she’s a two-time Olympic gold winner in judo, with a remarkable tournament record of 208-50. In 2018, she transitioned to MMA, joining the Professional Fighters League (PFL), and won the Women’s Lightweight Championship (155-pound limit) in both 2019 and 2021.

Early last year, Harrison moved to the UFC. She also moved down two weight classes so she could compete at Bantamweight, i.e., 135 pounds. A few days ago, she won the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship belt by submitting Julianna Peña with a kimura in the second round, and bringing her record to 19-1.

If you thought that was remarkable, you should hear Harrison’s backstory. She was abused by her first coach, which led her to become a vocal advocate for other survivors of sexual abuse. On top of that, in 2020, she took full custody of her two nieces when her stepfather passed away, raising them as her own.

But, I hear you ask, what the hell has all that got to do with nicotine pouches?

Combat sport weight cuts

If you’re a boxing or MMA fan, this next paragraph won’t be anything new to you. Basically, fighters have a “walking around weight” and a weight they compete at. Quite often, there is a pretty significant disparity between these two weights. On average, a fighter might make their division weight at, for example, 135 pounds, but actually come into the ring a day later at as much as 150-160 pounds.

Harrison is in her 30s, which makes the weight-cutting process more difficult. And, as we mentioned above, she competed in the PFL at 155 pounds. So, making 135 is very challenging.

She detailed the process of how she got there. It involved a gruelling 15-week programme of exercise and a meticulously controlled diet. The last few weeks involved getting in a sauna to help shed the last few pounds of water weight. However, she also credited one last thing:

According to Harrison, she was struggling to lose the last few pounds, so she turned to nicotine pouches because of nicotine’s well-known appetite suppressant qualities.

How nicotine helps people lose weight

On average, people who quit smoking put on between 9 and 11 pounds within the first year, with most of the “damage” done in the first three months. While conventional wisdom says that compensatory eating is the primary factor, the evidence suggests that biological mechanisms are also at play.

Here are some papers that cover the mechanisms.

  • Nicotine is an appetite suppressant that some studies have shown can reduce food intake by as much as 30%.
  • Like caffeine, nicotine stimulates the sympathetic nervous system. This process increases resting metabolic rate and heat production, meaning users burn as much as 10% more calories while they are resting.
  • Animal studies show that nicotine can convert white fat into brown fat. In other words, it converts energy-storing fat into fuel-burning fat. Again, this means that, theoretically, humans can burn fat while simply sitting around.

Final thoughts

Make no mistake, Kayla Harrison’s exceptional UFC achievements are down to incredible graft and commitment. She got down to 135 through careful dieting and an exercise programme that most of us couldn’t even imagine. For those tough last few pounds, she credits ZYN, and she’s even asked for a sponsorship.

Sadly for Harrison, ZYN’s marketing approach does not involve using paid influencers, but after her stunning win at UFC 136, she won’t be short of other offers.