When it was announced that reigning UFC women’s bantamweight champion Kayla Harrision had withdrawn from UFC 324 and undergone neck surgery, some fight fans wondered whether Amanda Nunes would face someone else on short notice.
Nunes, a Hall of Famer and a two-weight champion before retiring in 2023, has said she is not interested in making her return to the sport to compete for an interim title and that facing Harrison is her priority.
UFC president Dana White, in an interview with Sportsnet’s Diana Belbita, dismissed the notion there would be an interim title introduced and confirmed the organization’s plan to rebooked the matchup later this year.
“(Harrison vs. Nunes is) the best female fight ever in combat sports history. You wait until Kayla’s healthy. When Kayla’s healthy, we’ll make the fight again,” White said.
It is unclear at this time exactly how many months Harrison will be sidelined as she recovers.
According to Harrison’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, Harrison had been dealing with a recurring neck issue and subsequent symptoms over the past handful of years.
Abdelaziz told Submission Radio one of Harrison’s discs was pressing near her spinal cord and that tingling would occur on occasion but when Harrison was unable to lift her arm while preparing for UFC 324, the UFC’s doctors advised her to get surgery immediately or else she was risking potentially being paralyzed.
“It’s obviously extremely disappointing that it’s not happening (at UFC 324) but what are you gonna do? Kayla’s hurt,” White added. “She needed to get surgery. I mean, within 24 hours of (her injury) they had her getting that surgery, so when she’s healthy we’ll make the fight.”
Brazil’s Nunes, 37, was a simultaneous 135- and 145-pound champion before announcing her retirement in June of 2023 and vacating both titles.
Harrison was a two-time Olympic gold medallist in judo before her mixed martial arts career. The 35-year-old American is unbeaten in the UFC and became135-pound champion in 2025 when she submitted Julianna Pena this past June.
