Kayla Harrison’s manager has a positive update on her next fight.
Harrison (19-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC), the reigning UFC women’s bantamweight champion, hasn’t competed since submitting Julianna Peña to claim the title last October. She was scheduled to make her first title defense against Amanda Nunes this past January at UFC 324, but a neck injury forced her out of the bout.
Harrison underwent surgery to replace a disc in her neck, which also made her miss out on UFC Freedom 250 at the White House. Ali Abdelaziz of Dominance MMA says fans can expect the 36-year-old to compete in 2026.
“Yeah, she will fight this year for sure,” Abdelaziz told MMA Junkie of Harrison. “Towards the end of the year, she will fight, but I’m the one honestly, I said, ‘You know what? I want you to take your time, don’t rush, be healthy.’ That’s the most important thing for her to do. Why does she need to rush? She’s the champion, everybody is chasing her, they have to wait for her.”
Former UFC dual-champion Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC), who came out of retirement to challenge Harrison, turned down the idea of an interim title fight while Harrison recovers.
