Kayla Harrison (19-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) secured the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship this past June in Newark, NJ during UFC 316. That night, in her third UFC promotional appearance, she finished Julianna Pena (11-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) with a kimura submission inside the second round.
The Middletown, OH product wasted little time in calling out her next adversary inside the fabled Octagon. During her post-fight interview with comedian and UFC analyst Joe Rogan, she challenged Amanda Nunes, who was in attendance at UFC 316, to a fight.
Amanda Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC) was Kayla Harrison’s onetime teammate at American Top Team, as well as a friend of the current champ at 135 lbs. Before UFC 316 in the spring, Nunes expressed interest in suspending her retirement from competition for the opportunity to fight the victor of the Kayla Harrison vs. Julianna Pena fight.
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Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes Confirmed During NFL Today Halftime Segment on Thanksgiving
During the halftime report of the Thanksgiving Day NFL game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys on CBS Sports, UFC CEO Dana White announced the main and co-main events for the Jan. 24 UFC 324 on Paramount Plus. It’s the first UFC event on the schedule for 2026 and the first event of the upcoming seven-year deal between the UFC and Paramount Skydance.
In Dana White’s hit on The NFL Today, he revealed that the Harrison vs. Nunes tilt for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship would serve as the co-main event of the evening. Your main event of UFC 324 will see the UFC Interim Lightweight Championship at stake.
No. 4 contender Justin Gaethje (26-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) will meet No. 5 contender Paddy Pimblett (22-3 MMA, 7-0 UFC) in the headliner. Both title fights will be an advertised maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round inside T-Mobile Arena.
Kayla Harrison Isn’t Upset With Co-Main Event Status at UFC 324 in January
Most fighters who have been booked for the co-main event of a flagship event like UFC 324 wouldn’t be too happy knowing that they’d be fighting for a permanent championship before a fight for an interim championship takes place as the main event. Not Kayla Harrison.
Given Harrison’s comments made on the Monday episode of The Ariel Helwani Show, she’s taking the placement of her fight against Nunes on UFC 324 well.
“It’s not about me,” Kayla Harrison began, “and it’s not about Amanda [Nunes], I think it’s about the [women’s bantamweight] belt. That should mean something.”
Harrison also mentioned that she’s honored to share the stage with Gaethje in late January.
“I’m pumped,” she said. “I’m a big Justin Gaethje fan.”
Kayla Harrison’s Thoughts on Co-Main Event Slot Continued
Following some strong comments from Helwani concerning the fact that the UFC 324 main event is for an interim championship at lightweight, Harrison reiterated her stance on fighting in the co-main attraction in Vegas next month.
“I agree that these things matter,” Kayla Harrison said. “Does it matter to me? Not in the way that it matters to you. I have been patiently waiting for a date to confirm that this fight is going to happen. So, 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. I’m a mom. I’m in bed at 9 pm.”
Kayla Harrison on Facing Amanda Nunes in Latter’s Return from Retirement
It’s been over two years since Amanda Nunes fought inside the Octagon, having retired as the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion after UFC 289 in Vancouver in June of 2023. As previously mentioned, Kayla Harrison was Amanda Nunes’ former teammate at American Top Team.
Harrison mentioned that she has one singular goal in mind for the former champion’s return.
“Right now, the focus is Amanda,” she said. “Jan. 24, the G.O.A.T. gets dethroned.” She also said that there’s no animosity between the two ahead of the fight in the new year.
“I don’t really feel anything personal,” Kayla Harrison remarked. “There have been two people who my name has been linked to since before I had an MMA fight, and that was Amanda Nunes and Cris Cyborg. I’m living in my dreams right now. I started MMA eight years ago. The goal was to become the best and to see how high I could climb, to see if I could get to that level. I’m here and I’m making my dreams come true.”
Final Thoughts
One could make a case for either title fight being the main event for UFC 324 in the back half of January, but Kayla Harrison has said that it doesn’t matter where she fights. To her, all that matters is that she’s fighting next month.
She’s certainly got a positive attitude. This is the kind of fight that you want to have your popcorn ready for before the cage door closes.
You’re not going to want to miss even a second of this contest. Although it’ll be the first title fight of 2026 in the UFC, it may be a strong contender for best title fight in the UFC of 2026 by this time next year.
