Amanda Nunes, after retiring in 2023 to focus on her family, decided to return to the UFC to face Kayla Harrison, driven by her competitive spirit and Harrison’s rise to prominence in the sport.
Amanda Nunes retired in 2023 to focus on family, but it didn’t take long for the itch to fight again to surface. Arguably the greatest women’s fighter ever, she felt the pull.
As she gears up to face Kayla Harrison at UFC 324, Nunes admits her year away had her contemplating a comeback. She had conquered every challenge, yet the desire lingered.
Enter Kayla Harrison. Her arrival in the UFC signaled the end of Nunes’ retirement.
“One year passed, and I was looking at Nina, like ‘I can’t stay away,’” Nunes confessed. “I tried so hard for a year.”
Thoughts grew stronger with Harrison’s UFC signing. It felt destined, like all the pieces were falling into place.
Nunes and Harrison were once teammates at American Top Team in Florida. Harrison fought at lightweight, a division absent in the UFC, keeping conflict at bay.
But Harrison’s ambitions grew, eyeing fights with legends like Nunes and Cris Cyborg. These were the bouts she needed to cement her legacy.
Nunes understood this drive, but knew it would create a gym divide. “Every time we trained together, it was fine until she started calling me out,” Nunes explained.
“If you want to fight me, you shouldn’t train with my coaches,” she said. “I knew she’d make her way to the UFC. I was ready, but then I retired, had my second baby. It was chaos.”
Once in the UFC, Harrison quickly defeated Holly Holm and Ketlen Vieira, earning a title shot. She demolished Julianna Pena to claim the bantamweight title Nunes had vacated.
Seeing Harrison with the belt was the final push Nunes needed to return. “Nobody’s doing anything with my division. I’ve got to make it great again,” she declared.
The division’s stagnation and Harrison’s presence made her decision clear. “The gym, the coaches, they’re all against me now. I see them as opponents, too. I love the challenge.”