Amanda Nunes will be keeping a close eye on this weekend’s UFC 316 co-main event.
The former two-division UFC champion Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC) revealed earlier this year that she plans to come out of retirement to face the winner of the UFC bantamweight title fight between current champion Julianna Peña (11-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) and former PFL titleholder Kayla Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC). The bout is set to take place this Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
“I’m ready,” Nunes told New York Post Sports. “I’m really back in the gym, I’m really healthy, my weight’s good, so why not? No injury. So let’s see what’s going to happen. I’m ready to step in again.”
Rumors of a potential matchup between Amanda Nunes and Kayla Harrison have circulated for years, dating back to Harrison’s time in the PFL. The two previously trained together during Nunes’s stint at American Top Team in Florida.
“We trained but we we’re really training partners,” Nunes said about Harrison. “We didn’t train every day. When we would be able to train, we trained. We sparred only one time, when she got there. ... I feel like when she started talking about me, ‘Maybe in the future we fight,’ talk about it, bringing all that attention to the fight, as a competitor, I like the idea, too. I definitely don’t have anything personal against her either. This is all business.”
Nunes is uniquely qualified to weigh in on this weekend’s title fight, having trained with Kayla Harrison and fought Julianna Peña twice in the Octagon before retiring in 2023.
“I think it’s going to go to decision,” Nunes said when asked for her prediction. “I feel like three rounds Kayla, two rounds Julianna. I feel like later on, Julianna can stand out. I see Kayla doing what she wants to do, takedowns, use the cage, judo throw on the cage, using her trips to get Julianna down. I also know Julianna [is a] survivor, so Kayla doesn’t have enough to knock Julianna out or finish her on the floor. Actually, Julianna also very good jiu-jitsu defense, she got a lot better. She doesn’t stop. She’s going to make Kayla work a lot. She keeps coming. Kayla, is strong, so it’s going to be very good and interesting to see who is going to win. I think it can go either way, this fight, but I think decision Kayla.”
After dominating both the 135- and 145-pound divisions for years, Amanda Nunes suffered a surprising submission loss to Julianna Peña in 2021. She bounced back the following summer, avenging the defeat at UFC 277. If Peña comes out on top at UFC 316, Nunes has expressed interest in settling the score with a rubber match against “The Venezuelan Vixen.”
“Yeah, I think it’s great,” Nunes said of a potential Peña win. “1-1 and we can make that happen. I will prove it once again. So I’m ready for her, too.”
