Just like her path to winning two Olympic gold medals, Kayla Harrison has long wanted to be considered the absolute best in the world in her martial arts career.
Harrison doesn’t just want to win a championship, he wants to retire as the greatest fighter in the history of the sport, and he knows there are still many hurdles left before he can earn that honor. know. Perhaps the closest path to her goal is to bring former champion Amanda Nunes back into competition after winning the UFC title and then hinting at a possible return from retirement on “Lioness.” Probably. Nunes will call it a career in 2023 and retire with the UFC bantamweight and featherweight titles still on her shoulders.
They were once teammates under the same coach at American Top Team in Florida, but Harrison knows defeating Nunez would add major honors to her record, and it’s a challenge she welcomes. It is.
“Selfishly, I hope she (returns),” Harrison told MMA Fighting. “I have no opinion on Amanda other than she’s trying to throw American Top Team under the bus. Don’t fuck with my guys.
“But listen, if she’s happy and living her dream, that’s great, but it’s selfish. To silence all the noise, I want her back.”
In her last two fights in the UFC, Nunes avenged a past loss to Julianna Peña to regain the bantamweight title, and ultimately roughed up Irene Aldana in what turned out to be Nunes’ last fight after the promotion. He showed a great run.
Peña’s rematch comes seven months after Nunes suffered a shocking upset loss to the “Venezuela Vixen.” Nunes was submitted via rear naked choke in the second round, vacating the UFC title. It was Nunes’ first loss in six years. Things were much different in the second fight, with Nunes punishing Peña relentlessly over five rounds and winning a lopsided decision, with one judge giving Nunes a score of 50-43.
In the long run, Harrison would like to see both men get a chance to win, but while Pena deserves credit for the win, Nunes is still the better fighter and a huge addition to her resume. He admits that he thinks so.
“I’m never going to take a win away from Juliana,” Harrison said. “It was her night. Hats off to her. Lightning rarely strikes the same place twice. I think Amanda is a better fighter, but who knows what happened?” I don’t know. I’m looking forward to seeing what Juliana does in this match (against Raquel Pennington) – if she’s available.”
Harrison has high plans for his future, but if he falls through in his upcoming fight against Ketlen Vieira at UFC 307, none of those plans will come to fruition. That’s why every conversation about the title or Nunes or anyone else ends up with Harrison bringing up Vieira again. All that matters at this point is the name.
“We’ll see what happens,” Harrison said. “I’m focused on Ketlen Vieira, Oct. 5, UFC 307, 135 pounds, one step closer to his goal.
“One step at a time. First Ketlen, then the title, then Amanda if you want it.”
