Like the rest of the combat sports world, UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Kayla Harrison is ready for some concrete details regarding her planned superfight with Amanda Nunes.
Undefeated since joining the UFC last year, Harrison claimed the promotion’s women’s bantamweight belt in just her third fight with the promotion when she submitted Julianna Peña in the second round of their co-main event bout at UFC 316 in June.
The former PFL star had a viral faceoff with retired UFC Hall of Famer Nunes immediately following her title-winning performance, which kicked off fan excitement around the prospect of “The Lioness” coming out of retirement for perhaps the biggest fight in the history of women’s MMA.
Kayla Harrison Shares Update On Amanda Nunes Fight
There’s unfortunately been very little news regarding the women’s bantamweight superfight since the pair faced off at New Jersey’s Prudential Center, and Harrison recently admitted that she and her camp have discussed the idea of moving on from the matchup.
“I have had the conversations with my coaches about how long do we wait before (we pivot), and I have an idea in my mind, like, ‘Hey, if I don’t have news by this time, then I’m just going to ask (for a different opponent),'” Harrison said in an interview with MMA Junkie. “It’s also not fair for the division. I want to be conscientious of being a champion and being respectful of other fighters’ time and career.”
With only three UFC appearances under her belt, Harrison has yet to face the majority of the promotion’s top-ranked bantamweights outside of Peña and #3-ranked Ketlen Vieira. Former titleholder Raquel Pennington is ranked at #2 but is coming off a loss to Peña, and #4-ranked Norma Dumont could earn herself a title shot if she picks up a sixth-straight win when she takes on Vieira on November 1.
“We All Have A Very Short Window”
While she is considering the possibility of moving on from the Nunes fight, Harrison also went on to say that she’s still confident the matchup will come together.
“We all have a very short window. I would never want to put someone else’s dream on hold because, you know, that’s something that I do think about. I’m pretty sure (the Nunes fight is) going to happen. From everything I hear, she’s ready to go, she wants to fight, I want to fight. We’re just waiting on the details.”
Now more than two years removed from her last Octagon appearance, Nunes established herself as arguably the greatest fighter in the history of women’s MMA during a dominant UFC title run that saw her win and defend both the promotion’s bantamweight and featherweight titles.