Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women’s Bantamweight legends Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes will collide this weekend (Sat., Nov. 14, 2026) inside Madison Square Garden for UFC 334.
Harrison talked the talk while running the PFL table (aside from that one pesky loss to Larissa Pacheco), and since crossing into the Octagon, she’s walked the walk. The incredibly accomplished Judoka has only fought twice — not counting her weight cuts, which are a battle in themselves — as a UFC fighter, but she’s finished
two former champions and captured gold in the process.
There aren’t many up-and-coming contenders at 135-pounds, so why not look backwards? Amanda Nunes dominated the division for most of a decade, and “The Lioness” walked away on top just a couple years ago. If anybody can return from retirement to immediately win a belt, it’s her, but Harrison is a tough task at any point in her career … though one also has to wonder about Harrison’s performance after neck surgery.
Let’s take a closer look at the betting odds and strategic keys for each athlete:
Harrison vs. Nunes Betting Odds
- Kayla Harrison victory: -196
- Kayla Harrison via TKO/KO/DQ: +800
- Kayla Harrison via submission: +200
- Kayla Harrison via decision: +280
- Amanda Nunes victory: +152
- Amanda Nunes via TKO/KO/DQ: +300
- Amanda Nunes via submission: +2500
- Amanda Nunes via decision: +550
- Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
How Harrison Wins
Harrison is a tank with an Olympic Judo gold medal. Her struggle to make the 135-pound limit is no secret, but it’s also her great strength. Harrison can bulldoze opponents because of her physicality and grappling background, and American Top Team has done a fine job of teaching her the necessary MMA skills without taking away from her best assets.
Like most every other contest, Harrison wins this bout by getting into top position. An extended period of wrestling was known to fatigue Nunes even at her peak, let alone now that she’s in her late 30s and coming out of retirement. If Harrison bullies her way into the clinch and drags Nunes to the cage, the situation is not likely to improve for the Brazilian knockout artist.
Often, I write about the importance of establishing the threat of the standup or the value of kicking a better kicker — not this time. Harrison should do as little kickboxing as possible here, because she’s wildly outgunned in terms of power and striking fluidity. Her kicks are too slow and not set up well, meaning every thrown kick is a chance that Nunes smokes her right away with a right hand. In this case, Harrison should play it safe and get to the clinch as soon as possible.
She doesn’t have to do a sloppy Ronda Rousey impression, but the goal is to minimize the standup as much as possible.
How Nunes Wins
For all of her success, Nunes has never been a particularly complicated fighter. All of her greatness is centered around that menacing right hand, a punch thrown with a level of force her foes couldn’t generate with a baseball bat. She’s can jab decently, rip the calf, and has some slick jiu-jitsu, but … it really all comes down to that monster of a right hand.
The question here is if she can land it.
Harrison is not a perfect fighter. Her standup is pretty average, elevated only by the takedown threat. Her strength is immense, but Larissa Pacheco proved that Harrison does fatigue when an opponent doesn’t go away and drags the fight late. Pacheco out-lasted Harrison at 145 pounds, and one can only assume that cutting another 10 grueling pounds would not help her gas tank.
Therefore, I’d like to see a very patient Nunes. Ideally, she’s working behind the body jab, straight right to the body, and occasional calf kick early on. Those straight punches to the torso will keep Harrison away from the clinch and easy takedown entries, extending the fight and chipping away at the cardio. Nunes doesn’t really have to be afraid of the return fire coming her way; she just has to stay off the cage and manage her distance well. If taken down, the goal is to mitigate damage and survive until the referee stands them up.
The longer the fight runs, the more likely we see Harrison slow down and walk into a fight-changing blow.
Harrison vs. Nunes Prediction
Stylistically, I like Nunes here. She’s the much better MMA fighter overall, and Harrison has built up her resume largely by feasting on weak divisions. A couple years ago, I would back the Brazilian with confidence. Unfortunately, I can no longer trust where Nunes is at physically. She walked away because of brutal pain in her legs, and she’s returning because this is a big money opportunity. She’s unlikely to be at her physical best, and physicality was the whole selling point of Amanda Nunes as a world-class champion.
Even during her reigning double champion days, Nunes was rather technically limited. Remember how much worse Henry Cejudo looked after a couple years of accumulating rust? I’m expecting a similar performance here, as Nunes fails to find her timing early, allows Harrison to gain top position too easily, and is never able to generate the resistance necessary to fatigue the Olympian.
