Despite her skepticism, UFC women’s bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison is salivating at the idea of welcoming Ronda Rousey back into the ring.
According to Boxing Scene, a boxing match between Rousey and Katie Taylor will take place in Las Vegas in 2026. Former UFC bantamweight champion and Hall of Famer Rousey has not competed in combat sports since a first-round TKO loss to Amanda Nunes in December 2016.
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Harrison (19-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC), who defends her title for the first time against a returning Amanda Nunes on Jan. 24 in the UFC 324 co-headliner, is finding it hard to believe Rousey will be back in the ring. But if the 38-year-old decides to try MMA again, Harrison will certainly jump at the opportunity.
“It’s going to be some free money,” Harrison said of the fight with Rousey on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “Who is she going to fight? She’s not going to fight Katie Taylor in the ring. If you say mixed martial arts, I’d say okay.”
Harrison and Rousey (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) both have history. The two judo Olympians — Rousey won bronze in 2008 and Harrison won gold in 2012 and 2016 — competed in two judo competitions before the Olympics. Rousey won both of those fights, so an MMA fight would give Harrison a chance for revenge.
“Sometimes I can’t even write it, it’s so poetic,” Harrison said. “When people talk about our fights, all Ronda people say, ‘She’s beaten her twice in judo.’ I think, ‘Yeah, okay, I was 13 (14-15) and I was molested. (She was) 18 or 19. That’s fair. We were in the same weight class. She beat me. When I got beat, I was a woman enough. She beat me.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Kayla Harrison: Ronda Rousey fight ‘will be some free money’
