Amanda Nunes vs Kayla Harrison UFC 334, Digi Mart USA News (New York): Amanda Nunes is returning to the octagon after leaving the UFC in 2023 as the most successful women’s mixed martial artist of all time. The Brazilian is the only woman to hold UFC titles in two weight classes simultaneously and the only fighter, male or female, to successfully defend both belts.
Nunes is set to face American Kayla Harrison, a two-time Olympic judo gold medallist who became a two-time PFL lightweight world champion after moving to MMA. Harrison won the UFC bantamweight title in only her third fight with the promotion after joining in 2024. The bout, described by pundits as one of the biggest women’s fights in UFC history, will take place at UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday, according to BBC Sport.
The two were originally scheduled to fight in January, but the bout was postponed after Harrison required neck and spinal surgery. The pair are friends and former team-mates at American Top Team Gym, though Nunes left the gym in 2022.
Nunes said her interest in returning was sparked when Harrison signed with the UFC and she saw new contenders in the division. She said she wants to help grow women’s MMA and described the fight as a chance to prove who the best woman in the cage is.
She also said she has spent more time with her partner and two daughters during her break and has missed competing.
Nunes, who is 38, has won 23 of her 28 fights since her 2008 debut, including 11 title-fight wins, a UFC record for a woman shared with Valentina Shevchenko. She plans to keep fighting beyond the Harrison bout “until my body tells me”, according to the report.
