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Kayla Harrison, the two-time former Olympic and world champion Judoka, who is currently a professional MMA athlete with Professional Fighters League (PFI), has declared her intention to fight Amanda Nunes, if she ever comes out of retirement. The multi-division champion in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) had left the sport after successfully defending her bantamweight title against Irene Aldana, by a unanimous decision on June 10 of this year, in the main event of the UFC 289 at the Rogers Arena, Vancouver.
Both Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes are very familiar with each other, because they were once a part of the American Top Team, an MMA academy founded by Dan Lambert. At that gym facility, they used to train and spar with one another, in preparation for their respective fights for the PFI and the UFC.
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During her exclusive interview with TMZ Sports, Kayla Harrison, who has a 15-1 record in MMA, was quoted as saying this about Amanda Nunes’ retirement, “Yeah, for sure (Harrison answers the question about fighting Nunes if she ever comes out of retirement). I mean, you know, I have a lot of mixed emotions about her retiring. Number one, I am happy for her and sad for me.”
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The 33-year-old goes on to describe what Amanda Nunes is to MMA and said, “She is the greatest of all time. She was the woman. And I wanted to be the woman. And, to me, that's like the greatest compliment I can give someone. I value what you have so much and who you are so much that I'm like chasing you.”
Kayla Harrison regrets not going to MMA at the age of 22
In another exclusive interview, Kayla Harrison talked about how she regrets not going to MMA instead of winning an Olympic gold medal at the age of 22. She was quoted as saying to ESPN, “My timing in MMA is pretty brutal. Sometimes I’m like, ‘Did I really need a second gold medal? I should have just gone to MMA when I was 22.’ Then I could’ve just been this monster.”
Kayla Harrison also talked about how happy she is for Amanda Nunes going into retirement, and at the same time, sad for herself, for not fighting her inside the octagon beforehand. “If she’s happy, she’s satisfied, she’s accomplished everything she’s wanted to accomplish, I’m sad for me and I’m happy for her. That’s it,” remarked the 33-year-old.
