UFC ladies’s bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison has been compelled out of her scheduled title protection towards Amanda Nunes at UFC 324 on January 24 after present process surgical procedure to restore herniated discs in her neck. The withdrawal marks a major blow to what was billed as one of many greatest fights in ladies’s MMA historical past.
Kayla Harrison Injured Forward of UFC 324
Harrison flew to New York final weekend to seek the advice of with UFC docs, who really useful the process. She underwent surgical procedure on Tuesday to handle the harm, which would require not less than six months of rehabilitation and coaching earlier than she will be able to return to competitors. The process concerned repairing a number of herniated discs, although particular particulars in regards to the extent of the harm haven’t been publicly disclosed.
The 35-year-old champion had been driving excessive since capturing the bantamweight title at UFC 316 on June 7, 2025, the place she submitted Julianna Peña by way of kimura at 4:55 of the second spherical. The 2-time Olympic gold medalist in judo had maintained an ideal 3-0 report within the UFC since signing with the promotion in January 2024, together with victories over former champion Holly Holm, Ketlen Vieira, and Peña.
The matchup with Nunes carried appreciable anticipation and private historical past. Each fighters had beforehand skilled collectively at American Top Team in Florida earlier than Nunes left the gymnasium in 2021 following her loss to Peña. Nunes later confirmed that Harrison’s presence on the gymnasium influenced her choice to depart, stating it might have created issues for gymnasium proprietor Dan Lambert if each future opponents continued coaching below the identical roof.
Nunes, broadly thought to be the best ladies’s MMA fighter of all time, introduced her retirement following a unanimous choice victory over Irene Aldana at UFC 289 in June 2023. The 35-year-old Brazilian got here out of retirement particularly to face Harrison after the Olympic champion gained the UFC title. At 23-5 in her profession, Nunes is a former two-division champion who held each the bantamweight and featherweight titles throughout a dominant 12-fight profitable streak.
UFC 324 was set to function the debut occasion below the promotion’s new seven-year, $7.7 billion broadcasting settlement with Paramount+, marking the primary numbered UFC occasion not out there on conventional pay-per-view in america since UFC 267 in 2021. The cardboard is headlined by an interim light-weight title battle between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett at T-Cell Area in Las Vegas.
Based on stories, the battle between Harrison and Nunes will probably be rescheduled for a later date in 2026, although no particular timeline has been introduced. It stays unclear whether or not the UFC will ebook Nunes in an interim title battle or if the promotion will look ahead to Harrison to recuperate earlier than rescheduling the matchup.
