Kayla
Harrison believes she has moved a step closer to bringing
Amanda
Nunes out of retirement with her dominant
Ultimate Fighting Championship debut win over Holly
Holm.
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Harrison scored a second-round submission win over the former UFC
bantamweight champion at UFC
300 on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The
former two-time Olympic gold medalist judoka called for a title
shot next, vowing to be champion by the end of 2024.
“I want my title next, Joe [Rogan],” Harrison said in her post-fight interview. “That’s what I came over for
here, one thing and one thing only. I don’t care if it’s Raquel
[Pennington], I don’t care if it’s Julianna [Pena], by the end of
the year I will be UFC champion.”
Harrison’s performance certainly caught the attention of consensus
women’s MMA GOAT Amanda
Nunes. “The Lioness” retired after defending her bantamweight
title against Irene
Aldana at UFC 289 in June 2023 but has since alluded to a
possible return to action. Nunes posted an Instagram story of
Harrison’s post-fight interview teasing a potential clash. The
Brazilian wrote “Chama,” which translates to “fire” but has been
popularized by UFC light heavyweight champ Alex
Pereira as a slang for “Let’s go.” Harrison, who has been
rallying for a dream fight against Nunes for quite some time,
believes her plan to bring former double champ out of retirement is
in motion.
“Chama! I think the plan is working,” Harrison told TNT Sports.
Raquel
Pennington, who won the vacant title with a unanimous decision
win over Mayra
Bueno Silva at UFC 297 in January, called out former champ
Julianna
Pena for her first title defense. While Harrison is eyeing a
potential matchup with Pennington or Pena next, she was dismissive
of both along with the rest of the division.
“I mean I don’t think they [Pena and Pennington] match up well
against me,” Harrison said. “I don’t think anybody in this division
matches up well against me. I think that I’m an unstoppable force
right now and this is my time.”