Kayla Harrison has achieved nearly all of her combat sports dreams. The reigning women’s bantamweight champion gets another chance to tick the box at UFC 324 on Jan. 24 in Las Vegas.
Harrison defends his UFC title for the first time against former UFC two-division champion and all-time great Amanda Nunes. As former teammates on Team USA Top Ten (ATT), Harrison and Nunes have been linked to each other since transitioning to mixed martial arts (MMA) following their successful 2016 Olympics. With their clash finally official, the two-time judo gold medalist is looking forward to her usual emphatic victory.
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“On January 24th, the GOAT was deposed,” Harrison said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.”
“I think she’s going to be tough and I think I’m going to beat her. … I’m going to go out there and be smart, cool, cool and collected, and I’m going to instill my will – I’m going to knock her out. Every fight.”
Harrison, 35, has been nearly flawless in her 20-fight career, losing only to former PFL rival Larissa Pacheco, whom she had beaten twice before. Since the lone blemish came out in 2022, Harrison has won four straight fights, three of them under the UFC banner and in her new home at 135 pounds. She’s feeling good and has her sights set on her fourth cut in the division, noting she currently weighs about 159 pounds.
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While both Harrison and Nunes have spent a lot of time at 145 pounds — a UFC division that now no longer exists after Nunes took a two-year hiatus — the champion noted that was never a viable option.
“I don’t believe she can make 135 [pounds]” Harrison said of Nunes. “I’m not worried, but I’m definitely — we’ve seen her come out of main events before, we’ve seen her have issues and struggle. I was mentally prepared to be disciplined and do my job, but she was not. “
Before the fight was official, Harrison was called to compete on the upcoming UFC White House card in June. Ultimately, to the champion’s knowledge, the issue was never discussed. If so, she plans to fight until then.
Harrison’s first title defense falls on the UFC’s debut Paramount card after the two sides agreed to a seven-year, $7.7 billion broadcast deal in August. While the card’s current eight-event lineup is packed with big-name stars, its main and sub-main event schedule has been widely criticized. Harrison vs. Nunes — and the undisputed title between them — will serve as co-headliners beneath the interim lightweight title tilt between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett, neither of whom are typically considered the UFC’s top lightweight contenders.
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Harrison agrees with the common sentiment that her struggle deserves a lot of attention — she just doesn’t treat it as anything more important than the challenges before her.
“This has nothing to do with me and it has nothing to do with Amanda,” Harrison said. “I think it has to do with the belt. It should mean something. I agree these things are important. Does it matter to me? Not as much as it does to you.
“For me, I’ve been patiently waiting to find out the date when this fight was going to happen. The order of the fights has nothing to do with me. I’m just being honest. I’ve always joked that I would fight on the prelims, just because it’s more conducive to my sleep time.”
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There’s a lot of history between the two, but from Harrison’s perspective, any rivalry with Nunes is purely a rivalry. As far as training days go, the Olympian last worked out with “The Lioness” before Nunes’ most recent loss – a second-round rear-naked choke victory over Juliana Pena in December 2021.
“I have nothing but respect for her,” Harrison said of Nunes. “I’ve spoken publicly about this before, but I didn’t appreciate the way she left ATT and some of the comments and insinuations she made about the team. But she’s never done anything to me personally.”
At UFC 324, Nunes ended her retirement looking to add another champion’s name to her Hall of Fame resume. Nunes defeated every woman who captured the 135-pound title except Harrison.
If the champion has her say, it’ll stay that way.
