Kayla Harrison (19-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) was supposed to have a very different week leading up to Saturday night’s UFC 324. Initially, Harrison, the current UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion, was booked to appear in the co-main event of the evening on Saturday.
Her opponent for the belt was to be Amanda Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC.) The original co-main event of UFC 324 was announced almost two months ago, when UFC CEO Dana White made a special appearance at halftime of the Kansas City Chiefs at Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Day game on The NFL Today.
Everything seemed to be going according to plan for the Jan. 24 lid-lifter on the UFC’s 2026 schedule at T-Mobile Arena. In the final days before the card, however, Kayla Harrison’s plans were dashed in an instant.
Kayla Harrison Ruled Out of UFC 324 Due to Major Surgery
A week ago Wednesday, it was revealed that Kayla Harrison was going to miss the upcoming UFC 324 due to a critical neck surgery. Ali Abdelaziz, Harrison’s manager, was a guest of Submission Radio on the program’s Monday episode.
During the interview, Abdelaziz explained just how crucial Kayla Harrison’s issues had become.
“This has been going on for a long time,” Abdelaziz began. “Kayla has not been 100 percent for the last three years, since the PFL days. She’s always had tingling, but she couldn’t lift her arm. She literally went and got an injection, a whole bunch of medicine, anti-inflammatory, nothing worked.”
Upon a trip to New York City to seek medical attention, Harrison learned some sobering news.
“The doctor immediately [said] she needed to get a surgery,” Abdelaziz said. “If she doesn’t get a surgery, this can paralyze her. The disc is pushing on a spinal cord, but then, I’m going to tell you something: Immediately after the surgery, all the pain is gone.”
Abdelaziz Speaks About Kayla Harrison’s Surgery From Personal Experience
Ali Abdelaziz had a neck surgery of his own in the past. He mentioned in the Submission Radio interview how helpful it was to go through the procedure.
“I’m almost 50 years old,” he said. “I had a neck surgery and my neck is much better than when I was 21.”
From there, Ali Abdelaziz acknowledged the UFC staff for sending Harrison to The Big Apple to get her some vital treatment.
“It’s like nothing happened,” he said of Kayla Harrison’s surgery. “I think that’s the best decision she made. I’m sorry for all the fans who missed out on this fight, but you know, Amanda Nunes is not going anywhere. She probably needed a little bit more time. I feel for her, too.”
Abdelaziz on Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes Postponement and What’s Next
Although nothing as far as a rescheduled date for the postponed fight is crystalized at press time, the UFC will undoubtedly rebook Kayla Harrison once the current champion is afforded a clean bill of health. Abdelaziz understands Harrison’s feelings regarding the cancellation for this coming weekend.
“She put a lot of [her] time and effort into this,” he mentioned. “Kayla was gutted, she was heartbroken. I still support her decision 100 percent. If you go ahead and lose because you [were] not the best fighter, it’s okay. If you go ahead and lose because you were injured, [this] will haunt her for the rest of her life.”
Whenever Kayla Harrison’s next fight happens to be, opponent notwithstanding, Ali Abdelaziz is sure that her return will be must-see TV.
“I’ve seen this girl come back from crazy things,” he said of Harrison. “She’ll come back, shut [up] all the doubters, shut [up] all the haters, and the goal is still the same. If it’s Amanda, okay. If it’s somebody else, it’s okay. Doesn’t matter who’s next, but who’s going to be next, they’re going to have a long, long night ahead of them.
Final Thoughts
Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes was set to be one of the most exciting MMA fights in the early part of 2026 before the fight was postponed. Should the UFC elect to rebook the fight once Harrison is cleared to return to training camp, it’ll undoubtedly be a main event fixture.
Given that Harrison needed to undergo major surgery, she’ll need to take every second of recovery time afforded to her and not think twice about it. Once her return fight is confirmed, mark it on your calendars.
It will be 25 minutes [or less] of action that you’re not going to want to miss.
