She tried to stay away — but it didn’t last.
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) two-division champion Amanda Nunes will officially break her retirement and return to action next weekend (Sat.,
Jan. 24, 2026) when she faces former teammate and occasional training partner Kayla Harrison in the co-main event of UFC 324 inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
For years, Harrison openly campaigned for a fight with Nunes, insisting it was the only bout that could cement her legacy as the greatest women’s fighter of all time. While the matchup once seemed unrealistic with Harrison competing in PFL, Nunes admits she always felt the collision was inevitable.
“When she got to [American Top Team], every time I went to the gym training, she was there — or I was there — and it was never awkward,” Nunes said in a recent interview. “But when she started really talking about me, calling me out, while still trying to be my training partner, I started to distance myself.”
“This is the challenge I like,” Nunes continued. “But if you’re calling me out, you’re not supposed to be training on the same mat with the same coach. If I’m going to face you, you can’t be here anymore. Even before she was in the UFC, I knew it was coming.”
Like many MMA retirements, Nunes’ time away proved temporary. Although she genuinely tried to step back after hanging up the gloves, the competitive fire never fully went out.
“Everything was so crazy. I retired and had a second baby. All these things,” Nunes said. “I had so much going on, and I decided to retire, and she wasn’t even in the UFC yet. One year passed by, and I was kind of looking at Nina [Nunes] around the house like, ‘Nina, I cannot stay away. I can’t. I tried so hard for one year.’ When those thoughts started to be more strong, Kayla signed with the UFC.”
“It was like, ‘This is just meant to be.’ So everything came together,” Nunes concluded. “Nobody is going to do anything with my division, so I’ve got to go in there and make this great again.”
The storyline couldn’t be cleaner: former teammates turned rivals, unresolved tension, and two of the most accomplished athletes in combat sports history — Harrison, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, and Nunes, widely regarded as the women’s MMA GOAT.
Oh, and it’s the greatest female fight of all time, according to UFC CEO Dana White.
For the current UFC 324 fight card and Paramount+ lineup click here.
