Kayla Harrison Hints Amanda Nunes Fight Could Happen Sooner Than Expected

Kayla Harrison has hinted that a fight with Amanda Nunes may be on the horizon, and it could happen sooner than expected.

It had been speculated that Harrison (19-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) might face Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC) when the UFC stages its event at the White House in April 2026. However, the UFC women’s bantamweight champion suggested this week that while she plans to compete at that gala event, fans may see her return to action well before then.

“There’s a fight on the horizon,” Harrison told Jorge Masvidal on his podcast Death Row. “I can't say (when or where). It's not booked yet. It's a fight that we all want to see happen. And it's going to happen sooner rather than later.

“My perfect world, I fight soon. And then I fight again at the White House. But for sure, I'm going to be on the White House card. I'm the only American champion.”

When asked about her dream scenario for the next few fights, Harrison envisioned a quick stoppage victory over “The Lioness” to kick off the new year, followed by a massive matchup against UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko (25-4-1 MMA, 14-3-1 UFC).

With Shevchenko set to face former strawweight champion Zhang Weili at UFC 322 later this month, the timing could be ideal if “Bullet” emerges victorious and decides to move back up to 135 pounds.

“I'm going to whoop (Nunes’s) ass real quick. And then in my perfect world, like, either Valentina beats Weili, and then we do, like, a (superfight). Why not? We do like a USA versus Russia.”

Masvidal also floated the idea of a fight against Harrison’s fellow former Judo Olympian Ronda Rousey (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC), who has recently been posting footage of her return to the training room.

“I love Ronda,” Harrison said. “She's been out too long. You can't do it. Ronda or whoever's next in line, I literally don't care. I'll fight anybody.”