Amanda Nunes had a strong reaction to Kayla Harrison’s UFC 300 win over Holly Holm. Are we witnessing the seed of a women’s bantamweight superfight in the making?
Amanda Nunes is fired up by Kayla Harrison’s big win over Holly Holm at UFC 300.
The UFC women’s double champ retired from the sport in June 2023, citing nerve damage in her legs which kept her from training like she used to. But she left the door open for a return in subsequent interviews, and now she may have someone worth coming back for.
Kayla Harrison cut through Holly Holm with ease in her UFC debut, submitting the former women’s bantamweight champion in the second round of their fight. Holm never really managed to put together any offense. Harrison used her Olympic caliber judo to take her down, and some solid enough ground and pound to set up a rear-naked choke (watch the finish here).
#ufc300 pic.twitter.com/5VYCApO0Ke
— Amanda Nunes (@Amanda_Leoa) April 14, 2024
It’s hard to imagine anyone stopping Harrison from becoming UFC champ by end of year. But Harrison vs. Nunes is something much more interesting. It’s a fight that Nunes seems very interested in. “The Lioness” posted on her X (formerly Twitter) account for the first time since January to share a video of her scowling through Harrison’s post-fight victory speech.
She taps her ear as if waiting for Kayla to call her out for a fight, and then shakes her head in disappointment.
“Chama” she captioned the video, which is Brazilian slang for “Let’s go!”
If Kayla Harrison wants the 135 pound belt, she’ll have to take it off Raquel Pennington. We don’t need to see more. Book it! And then … a superfight with Amanda Nunes?
The women’s bantamweight division just got a whole lot more interesting.
UPDATE According to The Score’s Aaron Bronsteter, Harrison just told him she “would rather face Amanda Nunes next over fighting for the championship if given the option.” So Kayla is down.