NEW YORK – Kayla Harrison wants to be the greatest of all time, but not forever.
First, Harrison (19-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has to claim GOAT status, which many believe she can do by defending her title against a returning Amanda Nunes at UFC 334. The women's bantamweight championship fight serves as the co-main event at Madison Square Garden (Paramount+). Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC) never lost her bantamweight or featherweight titles before retiring in 2023, and has already been inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
Harrison has many accolades in her combat sports career, including Olympic gold medals to go along with her PFL and UFC championships. She's just days away from defending her title after neck surgery delayed the initial booking of this superfight
in January.
Harrison's trophy case is full, but the GOAT label isn't something she fully owns right now. Harrison wants that title, but only until the next generation comes along – and it would be even more special if someone like Amanda Nunes' daughter Raegan takes that status.
"I don't want to be the greatest of all time forever," Harrison told reporters at Wednesday's media day. "I want to do this for me, because I am a psychopath who – it's just never enough. But I want the next generation – I want Raegan to come stand on her mom's shoulders and beat every record her mom ever had, or every record I ever had, you know? I want the next generation to surpass. I want them to be the main event. I want them to be considered the greatest combat athlete of all time. Not the greatest female. That's the goal."
For a fight billed as the "greatest women's fight of all time," Harrison stopped short of saying she's disappointed that it's not the headlining act. She acknowledges that being second comes with the territory of operating in a male-dominated sport.
"This is a part of the culture," Harrison said. "We are in a male-dominated sport. Women's MMA has only been in the UFC for X amount of years. So, I do think that we are continuing to grow. You've gotta be so good that they can't ignore you – and I do think we are – and that's above my pay grade."
Harrison and Nunes both used to train under the same roof at American Top Team, which has been one of the key layers in the build to this superfight. Not only do both women belong in GOAT conversations, but since they were once teammates, the questions about who would win in a fight have been swirling for years. Some, including ATT owner Dan Lambert, believe they have an underlying level of hate for each other. Nunes assured that is not the case, and Harrison echoed that sentiment, saying it is purely a competitive rivalry.
"There's no hate at all – zero hate," Harrison said. "This is not a Colby-Masvidal; this is not a bad blood, grudge fight. This is two women who, I truly believe I'm the best in the world, and I think she truly believes that she is the best in the world, and we are gonna go out on Saturday night, and we are gonna leave it all out there, and hopefully have the greatest fight of all time for women – for now.
"But I have zero hate in my heart. I don't have any hate in my heart for anybody, and that's saying something, because I've been f*cked over."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Kayla Harrison wants to be the greatest of all time … but not forever?
