The long-awaited UFC fight between champions Amanda Nunes and Kayla Harrison is close to happening. After a period of months of waiting, since the initial cancellation of the fight in January, the expectation is that the current holder of the bantamweight belt (up to 61.2 kg) will return to the Octagon in the final stretch of 2026. The information was confirmed by her manager, Ali Abdelaziz.
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“Yes, she (Kayla) is going to fight this year, for sure. She’s going to fight towards the end of the year, but, honestly, I was the one who said: ‘You know what? I want you to do things calmly, without rushing, and take care of your health’. That’s the most important thing for her. Why would she need to rush? She’s the champion, everyone is behind her; they’re the ones who have to wait for her”, said Abdelaziz.
Kayla Harrison’s last appearance in the Octagon was in June 2025, when she achieved the much-desired UFC belt by submitting Julianna Peña in the second round. Before this achievement, Harrison had already accumulated two consecutive victories in the organization since her debut in April 2024, beating American Holly Holm and Brazilian Katlen Vieira.
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O retorno de Amanda Nunes foi adiado devido à lesão da campeã Kayla Harrison, que precisou passar por uma cirurgia no pescoço. Given the situation, the former two-time UFC champion expressed her intention to wait for her opponent to recover and will only accept the fight if the organization does not remove Harrison’s linear belt.
At the time of the injury, Amanda Nunes regretted what happened to her former training partner and assured that she was at her physical and mental peak for UFC 324, an event that was scheduled for January this year. However, Amanda reaffirmed her condition: she will not face anyone other than for the UFC belt, ruling out any possibility of fighting Norma Dumont for the interim bantamweight title.