Kayla Harrison is calling the shots after vanquishing Amanda Nunes at UFC 334, and there’s another legend she’d love to welcome back to the octagon.
Following the first successful defense of her bantamweight title Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York, Harrison spoke to reporters about her next fight, which might not be for a while given that she thinks she may have broken her foot before submitting Nunes in the fourth round.
When told that UFC CEO Dana White was open to Harrison rematching
Nunes, this time with a featherweight belt up for grabs, Harrison said she’d prefer that over another bantamweight defense.
“Uh, 145?” Harrison said at the evening’s post-fight presser. “I’ve got to go get that other belt.”
Asked to throw out the name of a dream opponent, she referred back to her old judo training partner and former UFC bantamweight champion, Ronda Rousey.
“If Ronda wants to come get some,” Harrison said, tongue in cheek. “Could be fun. Free money.”
Rousey recently returned from a nine-plus-year hiatus from competition this past May, when she made short work of fellow women’s MMA pioneer Gina Carano in the headlining bout of the inaugural MVP MMA event. In her prime, Rousey was a dominant champion and one of the biggest box office draws in UFC history.
An in-cage meeting with Harrison remains a long shot as Rousey appeared to be satisfied with closing out her career with the Carano fight.
Harrison’s win over Nunes guarantees that Harrison will be part of any discussion going forward regarding the best bantamweight of all time, which is led by Nunes and Rousey. Just don’t ask Harrison to lead that discussion as she’s simply basking in the moment and looking forward to the day that another woman surpasses all of their accomplishments.
“I don’t really care what people say,” Harrison said. “I’m happy. I’m satisfied. I believe Amanda is the greatest—was the greatest female fighter and I think that that’s me tonight. It’s not going to be like that forever.
“I saw a video of Amanda’s daughter Raegan talking about like, ‘You’re going to take her and elbow her and knee her,’ and I would love for Raegan to come stand on our shoulders and beat all of my accolades and be the greatest of all time someday. It’s not about me being the greatest forever, it’s just for right now. It’s for me and I’m satisfied with it. If you don’t agree, then that’s OK, I still love you.”
