NEW YORK – Kayla Harrison is relieved to have extra time off before her superfight against Amanda Nunes and is now more confident than ever.
Harrison (19-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) was originally scheduled to defend her women's bantamweight title against Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC) in January at UFC 324. However, Harrison suffered a neck injury that required surgery. The fight now serves as the co-main event of UFC 334 this Saturday at Madison Square Garden (Paramount+), and Harrison is relieved that the fight is now taking place after addressing her injury.
"Like night and day," Harrison told MMA Junkie and other reporters at media day. "I didn't know how I could not be in pain 24/7. The recovery was a lot longer than I anticipated. I had never had spinal/neck
surgery before, and I think in my head I was like, 'Alright, I'm gonna be back (quickly).' But I think that the long layoff was really good for me. I've healed, and I feel more confident. For a long time, I didn't, and now I feel more confident than I've ever felt. It was the right thing. Everything is happening the way it was supposed to happen."
Going under the knife caused Harrison to reflect upon her career and ask questions of herself. Now, at 36, was fighting still worth pursuing? The Olympic gold medalist admits she was in a "dark place" at times during her recovery period. However, pushing through the mental and physical challenges to reach a superfight against Nunes was a major motivating factor to get back to peak condition.
"Physically, I was preparing for the biggest fight of my life, and I was obviously having an immense amount of pain, having lightning bolts," Harrison said. "I was on the verge of having permanent nerve damage, but I was also training as if I wasn't. So, I was in the best shape of my life, as good of shape as I could be with that – and then I was in a neck brace for eight weeks. I couldn't lift more than 20 pounds. I went from being on a very extreme diet to not being on a very extreme diet. Then after I was in a neck brace for eight weeks, then I was allowed to take that off and lift like 50 pounds. Then after that eight weeks, I was allowed to sprint. So, physically, I did not feel like myself. I did not feel good. I did not feel good in my body.
"Mentally, to go from that high and that low is hard, and when I was finally able to get back on the mat, I really struggled with confidence. I think I was so scared to hurt my neck again, number one. That lack of confidence made me question if I was ever gonna feel like me again. So, I had a lot of soul-searching to do, and like digging deep to figure out if this is even (what I wanted). Because my neck didn't hurt when I wasn't training. If I was just being a mom, I could be fine. But getting back to the Kayla that I was, was really, really hard. ... It's been hard, but it's been worth it."
Just a few days away from her fourth fight under the UFC banner, Harrison isn't sure what will come next after fighting Nunes, win or lose. Retirement has been a topic that has come to mind, but it will be a subject that is addressed again in the aftermath of UFC 334.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Harrison said. "We'll see. I'm really grateful to be back doing what I love – again – against the greatest of all time, and I can't wait."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Kayla Harrison 'more confident than ever' after recovery before UFC 334
