Kayla Harrison just released an emotional statement regarding her withdrawal from UFC 324 due to neck surgery.
News of Harrison’s injury came out yesterday afternoon (Wed. Jan 14th, 2026), and the initial reaction from many fans was disappointment that we wouldn’t get to see Harrison and Amanda Nunes fight. This new video from Kayla, in a hospital bed with a neck brace and close to tears, really reminds you that behind every injury report is a human being going through some rough s**t.
“I just wanted
to give a bit of an update on my end,” Kayla said, her voice trembling. “Yeah, this is a tough one. I had to have surgery on my neck yesterday here in New York City with the specialist, Doctor Kim. So in lieu of that, obviously, we’re gonna have to reschedule the fight. And I just wanna say: I’m sorry. I’m sorry to Amanda. I was really looking forward to it.”
Harrison went on to thank the UFC, doctors, and her family for taking good care of her through the process. It’s still very unclear how serious the neck injury is, what kind of surgery Kayla had, and what the healing process will be like. But Kayla is already plotting her return.
“Yeah, this is day one of recovery, and the road back starts now,” she said. “I don’t know God’s plans. I know he knows that this is my dream. So I gotta praise him in the mountains, and I gotta praise him in the valleys. And so I’m grateful for this. I hope that it brings me closer to him and that he uses this story in a mighty way.”
“So that’s it. I’m sorry, guys. I’ll be back soon. I’ll be back soon.”
If any other fighter released this video, we’d write them off for the rest of 2026 and maybe forever. But given how tough and resilient Kayla Harrison has been through her long career as an athlete, we wouldn’t be surprised if she really was back ‘soon,’ as crazy as her prediction sounds right now.
