If their past sparring matches are any indication, the battle for
the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s
bantamweight throne is going to be one for the ages.
After Kayla
Harrison submitted Julianna
Pena at UFC 316, American Top Team trainer Marcus
Silveira had no doubt that Harrison’s next opponent would be
Amanda
Nunes. As it turned out, the promotion allowed Nunes into the
cage to congratulate the Olympian on her success while challenging
her to her next match. On Monday, soon after the promotion declared
the fight would indeed happen, Silveira spoke to Sherdog, where he
chimed in on how he thought that title tilt could play out.
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“When Kayla and Amanda trained here, they were in totally different
moments,” Silveira admitted. “Kayla was arriving in PFL, and Amanda
was already a UFC champion. Since then, a lot of things have
happened. Amanda retired and Kayla evolved a lot.”
The Carlson Gracie black belt recalled that the few times they
squared off for real in the gym, it was always worth the price of
admission.
“All I can say is that it was like a ‘Fight of the Night’
sparring,” he proclaimed.
When asked about the possible team-up between Nunes and Larissa
Pacheco, the only woman to defeat Harrison, Conan didn’t show
any concern.
“Of course, Larissa will be a great support to Amanda, but Kayla
also has some amazing training partners here. All I can say is that
Kayla is not the same fighter who fought Larissa three times, and
is a totally different fighter than the one who sparred Amanda back
then. She evolved a lot in the striking aspect and in all areas,”
the coach analyzed.
While she recently achieved the dream of winning a UFC title,
Harrison is not resting on her laurels. She will be back to the
training room in just a few days.
“She is so motivated after get that belt,” “Conan” expressed. “With
all the respect I have for Amanda, this time Kayla will win.”