Reigning UFC women’s bantamweight champion, Kayla Harrison, has been dealing with a bum neck for the last “five or six years,” but failed to address the debilitating injury until two weeks before her 135-pound title defense against former division titleholder, Amanda Nunes.
That’s according to her longtime manager, Ali Abdelaziz.
As a result, Harrison was forced to postpone her UFC 324 co-main event against “Lioness” and will remain on the sidelines for the next six months. In her absence, the promotion
upgraded Sean O’Malley vs. Song Yadong to co-headlining status at T-Mobile Arena on Jan. 24 in Las Vegas.
“Obviously, everyone knows by now that Kayla postponed her fight with Amanda Nunes,” Abdelaziz wrote on X. “I honestly don’t know how she’s been fighting for the last five or six years with this kind of injury. But it reached a point where it was necessary — continuing would have put her life and long-term health at serious risk. One thing about Kayla: she always comes back stronger and better. I can’t wait. This comeback will be legendary. Stay tuned.”
This wouldn’t be the first time Abdelaziz misspoke on behalf of his client.
For those idiots on social media who claim Harrison pulled out because she was scared, just remember that Nunes was medically cleared to fight Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 213 but withdrew from the main event just hours before the show, blaming sinusitis for the withdrawal.
Sh*t happens.
For the revised UFC 324 fight card and Paramount+ lineup click here.
