UFC 334 takes place this Saturday, featuring a fight that is nearly five years in the making: Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes.
Though Harrison and Nunes were teammates at American Top Team, the two women were looking to set up a superfight back in 2021 when Harrison was first free to leave the PFL. But then, Nunes suffered a shocking upset defeat to Julianna Peña, and Harrison returned to the PFL. Nunes then reclaimed her title and, a couple of years later, retired from the sport, with Harrison still
not in the UFC.
But when Harrison joined the UFC in 2024, rumblings began about the lost superfight, and after Harrison won the bantamweight title in June of 2025, it was official: Nunes was coming out of retirement to make the fight happen. An injury delayed the bout another 10 months, but now we stand on the precipice of this epic matchup. So, how will it go?
Let’s take a look at what we can expect from Harrison and Nunes on Saturday.
Path to victory for Kayla Harrison at UFC 334
Had Harrison never set foot inside an octagon, she’d still go down as a historically great athlete, winning gold medals in judo at two Olympic Games, on top of myriad other accomplishments in the sport. Fortunately, though, Harrison did, and she’s continued to add to her trophy case in this sport, winning two PFL titles and the UFC women’s bantamweight title by turning her judo game into a potent MMA game.
Harrison’s greatest strength in MMA is obviously her judo. Once she can work her way into a clinch, Harrison’s understanding of weight shifts, trips, and throws is hard to overcome. It usually leads to a takedown, and from there, things go downhill quickly for her opponents. Harrison is excellent with top control and pressure, and while the submissions are a threat, Harrison is not overly preoccupied with finding a choke or armbar. Instead, Harrison is more than happy to deliver brutal ground-and-pound until a submission presents itself.
Exacerbating all of that is Harrison’s sheer physicality. This is a woman who competed at 170 pounds in judo, and it was a serious question whether or not she’d be able to make 135 pounds. The fact that she’s pulled it off three times is a minor miracle, but it pays huge dividends on fight night, where her massive size and strength advantages accentuate her technical abilities in a devastating way.
The weakness for Harrison is on the feet. While she’s not completely out of her depth there, Harrison doesn’t appear to be a natural striker. She has good striking defense, but her offense is limited and rote, and more importantly, it feels uncomfortable and forced. There’s not a natural progression or flow, merely the threat of activity to set up her grappling. Simply put, Harrison isn’t a threat on the feet.
So, given the above, the obvious path forward for Harrison is grappling. While Nunes has shown some weaknesses on the feet — her inability to deal with a jab, for one — Harrison doesn’t really have the tools to take advantage. So for Harrison, this is about minimizing risk on the feet, and getting to your spots to score takedowns and land ground and pound.
Paths to victory for Amanda Nunes at UFC 334
Simply put, Amanda Nunes is the GOAT. 11 championship wins in the UFC, titles in two divisions, and a litany of UFC records, there are few fighters who have come near the accomplishments of “The Lioness.” And while it seems obvious, Nunes accomplished all of this by being the most dangerous female fighter of all time.
Don’t get me wrong, Nunes is skilled, and among the more skilled women to ever fight, across multiple disciplines. But Nunes didn’t win fights because she had an immensely layered offensive game — she famously solved the Julianna Peña rematch not by learning how to counter a jab, but by fighting the rematch entirely in southpaw — she won fights because she has a rock-solid game in all phases, and devastating physicality. She’s probably the greatest puncher in women’s MMA history, and the few times she fought women who could beat her on the feet, Nunes could dump them on the floor.
Against Harrison, the latter is obviously a poor option. While it’s possible Nunes could run over Harrison from top position, that should probably be her last resort option, because any time Nunes is in contact with Harrison, it creates the opportunity for scrambles, and Nunes is truly only losing this fight on the bottom. So for Nunes, the game is power shots on the feet, footwork to stay away from the fence, and mix in some body work, too. Harrison’s cut to 135 pounds is astronomical, so taking the gas away early should pay big dividends.
The elephants in the room
For all the possible technical breakdowns that can be made about this matchup, the truth is that what will determine Saturday’s matchup very likely has little to do with any of that. In most fights, you have a good idea of what both fighters can bring to the table, and maybe one or two questions about how some strategy might play out; in this fight, you still have the strategy questions, but they’re colored by the much larger problem of uncertainty around the condition of both fighters.
Harrison has not fought in 17 months, in large part due to having neck surgery. While she says she’s fully healthy — what else would she say? — a 36-year-old athlete coming off a neck fusion surgery, who still has herniated discs she’s waiting to operate on until after her career is over, well, that doesn’t inspire confidence.
But somehow, Nunes is even more concerning. The GOAT has not fought in 41 months, and even at the end of her career, Nunes was starting to look a little worse. Now, could that be because she was losing motivation and the time off reinvigorated her, leading her to look like peak Nunes on Saturday? Possibly. Or it could mean the old fighter got worse, then took 3.5 years off, and got way worse.
If both women were at their peaks, Nunes should be a comfortable favorite. But how much of each woman will show up on Saturday is probably the defining question for this fight, and there’s no real way to know until the cage door closes.
Prediction
The way I see it, there are four possibilities:
- Both Harrison and Nunes are close to 100 percent of their abilities — Nunes by KO.
- Harrison is close to 100 percent, but Nunes is diminished — Harrison by Submission.
- Harrison is diminished, but Nunes is close to 100 percent — Nunes by KO.
- Both Harrison and Nunes are diminished — Nunes by KO.
I’m playing the odds here. Nunes is the more dangerous striker, a competent grappler, and can match Harrison’s physicality. She fends off an early charge from Harrison and finishes her in the middle rounds.
Amanda Nunes def. Kayla Harrison via TKO (punches) — 2:05, Round 3
