“Lioness” has finally spoken.
UFC 324, which goes down this weekend (Sat., Jan. 24, 2026) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, took a massive hit when reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Women’s Bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison was forced to withdraw from her co-main event clash against former two-division champion Amanda Nunes due to a neck injury that required surgery.
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Harrison addressed the setback just one day after the news broke, releasing an emotional video explaining the situation. Nunes, however, remained silent — until now.
The former champion finally broke her silence in a video posted to the UFC’s official YouTube channel, admitting the situation was difficult to process after what she described as a flawless training camp.
“The news about Kayla going through surgery and everything made me sad because I prepared myself a lot,” Nunes said in Portuguese. “My training camp was perfect. I was prepared physically, mentally, and spiritually, so it’s hard not to get sad with all of that. But what can we do, right? That’s not under our control. Now we just wait and see what the UFC is going to do.”
Despite immediate speculation about replacement opponents or an interim title fight, Nunes made it crystal clear she isn’t interested in either option.
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“People are talking about an interim belt or fighting someone else, but guys, that’s not happening,” Nunes said. “I only fight for the real belt. If the UFC vacates the belt and finds an opponent, then I fight. But no interim belt for me. I also don’t want to fight another opponent now — that’s not an option.”
“So let’s see if we wait for Kayla or not and see what’s going to happen,” Nunes concluded. “But one thing is for sure: I feel good, I’m training a lot, I’m strong, motivated, and I’m 37 years old with a lot of energy. I’m ready to get my belt back.”
As the self-proclaimed G.O.A.T. made clear, she has no interest in an interim title, meaning a short-notice trilogy bout with Julianna Pena is ain’t happening— unless Harrison ultimately vacates the belt. For now, all signs point to the champion focusing on recovery with hopes of returning by the historic UFC White House event later this year.
Nunes has not competed since dismantling Irene Aldana at UFC 289 in June 2023.
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