After nearly seven years of build, Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes shared the octagon at UFC 334, and it was the reigning champion who prevailed.
Harrison (20-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) enhanced her resume in a big way Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York when she submitted UFC Hall of Famer Nunes (23-6 MMA, 16-3 UFC) in the fourth round to retain women's bantamweight gold
and make all her time pursuing the matchup well worthwhile.Was this the optimum version of this fight? Of course not. Nunes was coming back from a nearly 3.5-year retirement layoff, while Harrison hadn't competed since June 2025 due to a neck surgery. Those two conflicting obstacles added a different layer of intrigue, but it's hard to argue this was the best of either fighter.
Even with Nunes' time off in mind, though, it doesn't answer for what was one of the more perplexing strategical approaches in recent memory. The Brazilian's decision to willingly engage with two-time Olympic judo gold medalist Harrison in the clinch and in other grappling scenarios was truly bizarre, especially given her success in the moments the fight did stay standing.
Whether Nunes was trying to fatigue Harrison with grappling or purely entered with the arrogance she was superior in that area, there's no doubt she did not give herself the best chance at victory with her game plan. It's not super difficult to envision to see a path to victory had she been more disciplined, and that will probably haunt "The Lioness" for the rest of her days.
The upside for Nunes, though, is that, if she wants it, an immediate rematch and second crack at Harrison is likely going to be on the table. Harrison expressed a desire to do it again post-fight, but at women's featherweight, while UFC CEO Dana White was also receptive to that idea when asked if the pair could run it back.
It will be interesting to see if Nunes is all about that, or if she takes the result as a sign that perhaps her best years are over. Prior to UFC 334, Nunes said this return from retirement was not a one-off and she intended to defend the belt. That didn't happen, and now she will be forced to decide if this is something she truly still wants at this stage in her life.
Harrison admits she also has some things to decide regarding her own fighting future, but it's hard to see her resisting the temptation of having another win over Nunes on her resume, especially if she has to cut 10 less pounds by doing the rematch at 145 pounds.
If Nunes does opt to re-retire, then it seems plausible that Harrison would follow suit. She invoked the names of Ronda Rousey and Cris Cyborg as fights of interest, too, but both of those seem highly unrealistic, and it's hard to picture her finding motivation to defend against another contender like Ailin Perez, Joselyne Edwards or Bia Mesquita.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 334 matchmaker: Is Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes rematch a must?
