UFC women’s bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison shared a health update ahead of her return to the Octagon at UFC 334.
Harrison puts the UFC women’s bantamweight title on the line for the first time when she battles former champion and long-time rival Amanda Nunes in the co-main event of UFC 334.
For Harrison, it’s her first fight since June 2025, when she submitted Julianna Pena at UFC 316 to win the belt. She has been dealing with a neck injury since then that required major surgery, but she’s finally healthy and ready to get back into the cage and do what she loves best: fight.
Kayla Harrison Provides Health Update
Speaking on the “Deep Waters” podcast, Harrison provided a health update ahead of her long-awaited return at UFC 334.
“I feel awesome. To be honest, it was rough at the beginning. I think more just obviously physically, but mentally, it was such a big surgery and I went 10 years without having surgery. I had reconstructive knee surgery in between my two Olympics and then I went 10 years with no surgery, but in the last four years I’ve had four surgeries back to back to back to back and this one was the most serious. I kind of was just like, ‘Dude, am I ever going to be OK again?’ It got to the point where I was questioning if I was ever going to feel like myself again. But I’m back. I’m back,” Harrison said (via MMAFighting.com).
Kayla Harrison Favored to Defeat Amanda Nunes
Per the latest betting odds, Harrison is a -195 favorite to defeat Nunes, who is a +165 underdog.
Harrison is 19-1 in her MMA career, including a 3-0 return in the UFC since joining the world’s leading MMA promotion in 2024.
As for Nunes, she is 23-5 and is considered the greatest women’s mixed martial artist of all time. However, she has not fought since a decision win over Irene Aldana in June 2023, so she enters this fight off a long layoff.
Harrison should have a major advantage on the ground in this fight, but Nunes has the striking edge, making it a very intriguing title fight.
Kayla Harrison Shares Health Update Ahead of Return at UFC 334