With Return Imminent, Amanda Nunes Admits Kayla Harrison Fight is 'One I Want'

With Amanda Nunes’ comeback all but official, the former two-division champion will likely be the most interested of all observers when the women’s bantamweight title is up for grabs in June.

Nunes was in attendance at UFC 314 in Miami, where it was announced that “Lioness” would be enshrined in the promotion’s Hall of Fame this summer. Nunes gave multiple interviews during the weekend, and she often indicated that her UFC return was imminent.

If all goes as planned, Nunes will face the winner of the Julianna Pena-Kayla Harrison championship clash slated for UFC 316 on June 7 in Newark, New Jersey. Nunes already has history with Pena, but a fight with Harrison might be even more intriguing for the Brazilian.

“Kayla or Julianna, I want my belt back, and I’ll fight for it,” Nunes said on UFC Fight Pass Brasil (translation via MMAFighting.com). “I’m driven by challenges. I like to fight for something. Kayla is strong as hell, that’s the one I want. It could be Julianna, cool. I fought her twice, I’ll fight her again. Kayla is strong, she’s coming now and is on a good level, has good judo and great grappling, she’s evolving on the feet, and that’s the one I want. This new thing.”

Pena scored one of the biggest upsets in the sport’s history when she defeated Nunes via second-round submission at UFC 269. Nunes got her revenge with a dominant five-round verdict in their rematch at UFC 277. They were supposed to have their trilogy at UFC 289, but Pena withdrew from the bout. Instead, Nunes defended her belt against Irene Aldana and then announced her retirement.

Having Harrison, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and former Professional Fighters League champion, in the UFC is a new challenge for Nunes. The two were also both briefly at American Top Team, but Harrison’s arrival ultimately led to Nunes’ departure.

Nunes said that she never spent significant time working when Harrison when they were both at ATT.

“We didn’t have a partnership in the gym,” Nunes said. “There was no such thing, but we did some training here and there. I was out of shape, I was always traveling, coming back and doing some training. It wasn’t like we were always training [together] or I was in shape and training with Kayla. Never like that. It was always something random, but that’s it. I’m ready for anyone. I mean it.”