Kayla Harrison almost didn’t come back.
Next month, Harrison will defend her women’s bantamweight title against Amanda Nunes in the co-main event of UFC 334. It’s a fight that was originally targeted for earlier this year, but had to get postponed after an injury forced Harrison to have neck surgery. Now, the two-time Olympic gold medalist is fully healthy though, and speaking with Uncrowned, she opened up about her layoff and the injury that necessitated it.
“I’m good. I’m really good. … I wasn’t
very good for a very long time, and it was a struggle,” Harrison told Uncrowned. “There were a lot of moments where I kind of questioned if this was going to be possible, and if I needed to come to terms with the fact that I might be all done. But I’m back. …
“I’ve had five herniated discs for quite a while. and throughout my career, it’s flared up, and it’s been bad. I’ve sort of just done everything to have good maintenance. I didn’t want to have surgery, so I’ve done stem cells pretty regularly to try and combat any more further damage happening. I’ve done anti-inflammatories and arthritis medication and pain pills, and nerve pain pills and muscle relaxers and rigorous physical therapy.
“So it just got to the point where, the last month … I think all of December, I had numbness down my arm, and I couldn’t feel my three fingers, and then I started to get kind of lightning bolts. I lost strength in my right arm, and I was in a really bad spot. Finally I went and got an MRI and they were like, ‘Oh yeah, it looks like the last two of the five herniated discs are completely blocking the nerve at this point.’”
Because of the nerve damage, Harrison had to have neck surgery, which required a long recovery time to get back to full health. And she admits that there were times during her recovery that she questioned whether she should come back at all.
“After surgery, there were definitely moments where I was like, ‘I don’t know if I can do this anymore.’ For sure,” Harrison said. “You have to remember, I was in a neck brace for eight weeks. I wasn’t allowed to lift more than 20 pounds. So to go from training for the biggest fight of my life at 100 miles per hour to that was like a big drop, and then the mental side of it that comes with that. To go to freakin’ — I mean, I don’t even know. Like, I wasn’t even crawling. I was standing completely still, and to try and claw my way back to the shape I’m in now, and the confidence I have now — it was a very long process that I kind of had to trust God with.
“I was in a lot of pain, still. The nerve pain went away immediately, like immediate relief, but the muscles, the bone healing, all of that, doing the PT — you go from sparring five rounds and you’re the baddest woman on the planet, to in a straight neck brace. … It’s humbling.”
But now the question for Harrison is that even though she is back, how long will she stay? At 36 years old, Harrison has accomplished just about everything there is to accomplish in MMA, and she acknowledged that this fight with Nunes could be the final one of her storied combat sports career.
“I mean, anything is possible,” Harrison said. “What if they offer me $10 million a fight? I’m just saying anything is possible. I’m already satisfied with my career, let’s get that straight. I could walk away tomorrow and be fine and have peace. This is for me. I want Amanda, a worthy opponent. She brings out the best in me. I think I bring out the best in her, and it is worth my time and my effort to challenge myself against Amanda, and may the best woman win, and I’m excited about it. But I don’t ever have to fight again. I’m good.”
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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Maycee Barber (15-3) vs. Carli Judice (7-2); UFC 335, Dec. 12.
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