Kayla Harrison fires back at Amanda Nunes’ team remarks and welcomes their fight: "Literally the dream scenario"
Kayla Harrison was dominant in her promotional debut at UFC 300, defeating former UFC women's bantamweight champion Holly Holm via second-round submission. Following the bout, Amanda Nunes shared a video where she was seemingly questioning why the two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo did not call her out.
The No. 3-ranked women's bantamweight responded to the video, sharing that she would be happy to face the former double champ. Speaking to John Morgan of Grind City Media, Harrison stated:
"I didn’t call Amanda out because Amanda’s retired, you know? I didn’t want to be that girl that’s like calling out old people, retired people, like people who are fat and happy sitting on the couch. I’m happy for her. I think also she struggles to not be in the limelight still so I think when I had my moment, maybe she needed to come in, which is fine, and I have no beef with Amanda. Listen, the only problem I have with Amanda is that she talks s**t about the greatest team in the world [American Top Team]. That's it."
Harrison continued:
"Personally, I think she’s great, but don’t talk s**t about my team. Home team for life. Having said that, I would love for her to come back. That is literally the dream scenario for Kayla Harrison and her career. When she retired, I was like, 'what are you doing? Not yet, wait.' I’m glad she made the video, but now she’s going to be hearing from me. I have a couple of steps to take, and then she’s going to be hearing from me."
Check out Kayla Harrison's comments on Amanda Nunes below (starting at the 2:44 mark):
It is unclear if a clash with Harrison would be able to entice Nunes to come out of retirement. The long-time double champ retired after defending her women's bantamweight title against Irene Aldana at UFC 289.
Kayla Harrison shares her reaction to taking another fight before title opportunity
It was clear when Kayla Harrison signed with the UFC that she would be fast-tracked to a title shot. Many thought that opportunity would come after her first victory in the promotion, however, she will need at least one more win before fighting for the women's bantamweight belt.
Harrison recently shared her reaction to being booked to face Ketlen Vieira at UFC 307 with John Morgan of Grind City Media, stating:
"I'm ready. I'm the best in the world everyday of the week so no matter who it is, what day it is, I'm ready and I will be ready when my time comes. Until then, great. I get to go out, I get to show the fans even more of me, I get to showcase my skills even more against someone who's ranked higher than me on the same card as the two girls who are fighting for the title. Everyone's going to be like, 'holy s**t, why isn't this girl fighting for the title?'"
Check out Kayla Harrison's comments below (starting at the 4:41 mark):
Harrison will face Vieira in a women's bantamweight title eliminator. Later on the card, Raquel Pennington will look to defend her belt for the first time when she faces Julianna Pena in the co-main event.