The retirement of former UFC double champion Amanda Nunes means Kayla Harrison won’t get one of her long-desired fights.
Nunes, who held the UFC women’s bantamweight and featherweight titles, called it a career after defeating Irene Aldana at UFC 289 in June. Harrison has always wanted to test herself against the consensus greatest female fighter of all time, but she’s lost out on that opportunity.
Harrison, the two-time Olympic gold medalist judoka and two-time PFL women’s lightweight champion, said her eagerness to fight Nunes, who once was her teammate at American Top Team, was purely rooted in competition.
“I mean, I’m happy for her if she’s happy,” Harrison told ESPN. “I have no animosity towards Amanda. I feel slightly troubled by some of the things that she said about the gym and about the coaches. That, to me, didn’t sit well with me. And I know, however she took the things I said about her, her interpretation of them was not what my intention was.
“My intention always when speaking about Amanda was, ‘Hey, you’re the greatest. I respect that so much. I put so much value on who you are, what you’ve accomplished, what you’ve done, that like, I want that. I want to become that.’ My intention was always from a place of respect but also realness. I’m not going to pretend like I don’t want to fight (her). … I don’t play like that. I’m not like Merab (Dvalishvili), God bless his soul. I’d fight my grandma if she was the greatest.”
With featherweight champion Cris Cyborg opting to re-sign with Bellator, Harrison lost out on another big fight for the time being –unless, of course, Bellator and the PFL merge as has been discussed. She wonders had she transitioned to MMA earlier, if that would have increased her chances of landing these mega fights.
“My timing in MMA is pretty brutal,” Harrison said. “Sometimes I’m like, ‘Did I really need a second gold medal? I should have just gone to MMA when I was 22.’ Then I could’ve just been this monster,” Harrison said. “If she’s happy, she’s satisfied, she’s accomplished everything she’s wanted to accomplish, I’m sad for me and I’m happy for her. That’s it.”
