Kayla Harrison has made nearly all her combat sports dreams come true. At UFC 324 on Jan. 24 in Las Vegas, the reigning women’s bantamweight champion gets the opportunity to check off one more box.
In her first UFC title defense, Harrison takes on the former two-division UFC champion and all-time great, Amanda Nunes. As former teammates at American Top Team (ATT), Harrison and Nunes have been linked to one another since Harrison transitioned to MMA following her Olympic success in 2016. With their clash finally official, the two-time gold medalist in judo expects her usual dominant victory.
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“Jan. 24, the GOAT gets dethroned,” Harrison said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.”
“I think she’s going to come out hard, and I think I’m going to break her. … I’m going to go out there and be smart, be calm, cool and collected, and I’m going to instill my will — and I’m one takedown away. Every fight.”
Harrison, 35, has been nearly flawless in her 20-fight career, losing only once to former PFL rival Larissa Pacheco, who she defeated twice prior. Since her lone blemish in 2022, Harrison has won four straight bouts, with three taking place under the UFC banner at her new home of 135 pounds. Feeling good and locked in for her fourth weight cut in the division, she noted that she’s currently around 159 pounds.
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Although both Harrison and Nunes have spent plenty of time at 145 pounds — a now-defunct UFC division after Nunes’ two-year hiatus — the champion noted that was never a presented option.
“I’m not convinced she makes 135 [pounds],” Harrison said of Nunes. “I’m not worried, but I’ve definitely — we’ve seen her pull out of main events before, we’ve seen her have issues and struggles. I’m mentally preparing for me to be disciplined and do my job, and for her to not.”
Before the bout was made official, Harrison called to compete on the upcoming UFC White House card in June. Ultimately, to the champion’s knowledge, that was never discussed. If it were, she still intended to fight before that.
Harrison’s first title defense instead falls on the UFC’s debut Paramount card, after the companies struck a seven-year $7.7 billion broadcast deal in August. While the card’s current eight-fight lineup features plenty of big names, the placement of its main and co-main event has been met with ample criticism. Harrison vs. Nunes — and the undisputed title that’s on the line between them — will be the co-headlining attraction, slotted underneath an interim lightweight title tilt between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett, neither of whom are generally considered the UFC’s No. 1 lightweight contender.
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Harrison agrees with the general sentiment that her fight deserves top billing — she just won’t make it a bigger deal than the challenge ahead of her.
“It’s not about me, and it’s not about Amanda,” Harrison said. “I think it’s about the belt. That should mean something. I agree that these things matter. Does it matter to me? Not in the way that it matters to you.
“For me, I have been patiently waiting for a date to confirm that this fight is going to happen. The bout order is irrelevant to me. I’m just being honest. I make jokes all the time where I’m like, I would fight on the prelims just because it’s more conducive to the time I go to bed.”
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There’s plenty of history between the two, but from Harrison’s perspective, any rivalry with Nunes is purely competitive. In terms of their training days, the Olympian last trained with “The Lionness” before Nunes’ most recent defeat — a second-round rear-naked choke against Julianna Pena in December 2021.
“I have nothing but respect for her,” Harrison said of Nunes. “I’ve spoken publicly about this before, but I don’t appreciate the way she left ATT, and some of the remarks and insinuations she made about the team. But she’s never done anything to me personally.”
At UFC 324, Nunes ends her retirement with the intention of adding another champion’s name to her Hall of Fame résumé. Nunes has defeated every woman to hold the 135-pound crown, aside from Harrison.
Should the champ have her say, it’ll stay that way.
