UFC champion Kayla Harrison faces Amanda Nunes at UFC 334
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The gist
UFC bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison fights returning Hall of Famer Amanda Nunes in UFC 334's co-main event.
The bout was postponed by Harrison's neck surgery; Nunes returns after 1,253 days away.
Background
Kayla Harrison is the reigning UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo and a former PFL (Professional Fighters League) champion who joined the UFC in 2024. Amanda Nunes is a UFC Hall of Famer and former two-division champion who retired in 2023 and is returning to challenge for the bantamweight title. The two were briefly teammates at American Top Team, and Harrison has said training with Nunes was a big reason she moved there; things turned "a little salty" after Harrison joined the UFC and publicly called out a then-retired Nunes. The fight was first booked for early this year but was postponed after Harrison had neck surgery.
How it unfolded
- Jun 7, 2025Harrison submitted Julianna Pena in the second round at UFC 316 in Newark, New Jersey, to win the women's bantamweight title.
- Jan 14, 2026News broke that Harrison was out of her UFC 324 co-main event against Amanda Nunes due to injury; she underwent surgery for herniated discs in her neck and the bout was postponed.
- Nov 5, 2026UFC 334 had 12 fights scheduled just over a week out, including the co-main event of Nunes returning to face champion Harrison.
- Nov 9, 2026MMA Lab head coach John Crouch previewed the Harrison vs. Nunes title fight; by Saturday, Nunes will have been out of action for exactly 1,253 days since beating Irene Aldana at UFC 289 in June 2023.
- Nov 10, 2026The full 'UFC 334 Countdown' episode was released ahead of the co-main event at Madison Square Garden.
Key terms
- submitted
- Yielding to an opponent in combat sports, often by tapping, which results in immediate defeat.
Source: Wikipedia
Who’s saying what
- Champion
- Harrison says she will be "undisputed" and the greatest combat athlete of all time, calling Nunes the GOAT and saying she looks up to her and learned a lot training with her.
- Coach
- MMA Lab head coach John Crouch says Nunes has power nobody else has had in the division, and that the week's expectations, not the fight itself, are the major factor.