Kayla Harrison vows to "lure" Amanda Nunes out of retirement in bid to "f***ing take everything she's ever worked for"
Even before Kayla Harrison made her UFC debut, the American fighter was already engaging in verbal fencing with Amanda Nunes over a potential showdown. At that time, Nunes was reigning supreme in the UFC women's bantamweight division, and held the UFC women's featherweight title, while Harrison was crushing stiff competition in the Professional Fighters League (PFL).
However, Nunes announced her retirement following her victory over Irene Aldana at UFC 289 in June 2023. Nevertheless, Harrison has expressed a strong desire for the former champion to return to the octagon. She recently proclaimed her intention to "lure" Nunes out of retirement, vowing to “take everything she’s ever worked for.”
Speaking in a recent episode of the Pound 4 Pound with Kamaru Usman & Henry Cejudo Podcast, Harrison said:
"I'm about to get this belt [UFC women's bantamweight championship]. I'm going to get another belt, lure Amanda [Nunes] out of retirement and I'm going to f*cking take everything that she's ever worked for and then Henry [Cejudo] is going to owe me 100 anytime pushups. And he will no longer be the greatest combat of all time."
Check out Kayla Harrison's comments below:
Harrison made her UFC debut in April at UFC 300 and impressed everyone with a dominant submission victory against former divisional queen Holly Holm. She is gearing up to face No.2-ranked Ketlen Vieira at UFC 307 on Oct. 5 in a potential title eliminator.
Kayla Harrison slams Julianna Pena's plans for a trilogy fight against Amanda Nunes
Julianna Pena is set to challenge women's bantamweight champion Raquel Pennington in the co-main event of UFC 307. She aims to dethrone the American and subsequently lure Amanda Nunes out of retirement for a trilogy fight.
However, Kayla Harrison believes Pena is trying to avoid a fight with her should she win the title. Harrison argued that Pena is attempting to sidestep competition while emphasizing that she's been "gifted" with the title shot against Pennington.
Harrison, who is set to face Ketlen Vieira on the same night, reacted to Pena's plans in a recent interview with CBS Sports' Shakiel Mahjouri and said:
"She’s trying to avoid the inevitable... She’s calling out Amanda [Nunes], she’s saying I’m on steroids... Julianna [Pena] doesn’t have a win over someone in the top 15 right now. What has she been doing? She’s had two years off, coming off a loss. Now she’s going to fight for the title, she’s been blessed with this gift. And then she's going to run around... Her time is coming, and more importantly, my time is coming. I’ll be prepared for when it does, and I hope she is too.”
Check out Kayla Harrison's comments below (8:45):