Amanda Nunes says Kayla Harrison still makes the same mistakes before UFC 334

The former two-weight champion, who trained alongside Harrison at American Top Team, faces her in the UFC 334 co-main event at Madison Square Garden in New York on 14 November.

By Combat Sports UK Staff · Published Tue 20 Oct, 19:23 UK · AI-assisted reporting

Amanda Nunes believes Kayla Harrison has not fixed the flaws she saw in their sparring sessions, and is confident she still holds the edge over the reigning UFC bantamweight champion.

The pair meet in the co-main event of UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden in New York on 14 November. Nunes retired in 2023, leaving the bantamweight title vacant, and Harrison won it two years later.

They once shared a gym at American Top Team, where Nunes held the 135lb and 145lb titles while Harrison, a two-time Olympic judo champion, was moving into MMA. Speaking on the Deep Waters podcast, Nunes said: “We sparred, training. Honestly, when she first arrived in the gym a long time ago, I know she evolved a lot, but she still does the same mistakes since we sparred, you know? I studied her a lot.” Nunes said she did not think Harrison gave her all when training with female partners, although she accepted that the prospect of the two eventually fighting may have made things awkward from the start. She said: “When she came to the gym, I didn’t feel like she was an open training partner.” She added that Harrison got along better with the men in the gym than the women, and that their attempts to work together never came to anything.

The tension grew once Harrison began naming Nunes as a target. Nunes said: “Then when she started calling me out, every time she had opportunity, she grabbed the microphone and she always talk about me. That’s not good. We share the same mat.” Nunes also questioned why Harrison could not wait until she had stepped down as champion before declaring she wanted her place, saying she had brought two belts to the gym. She said she was happy to fight Harrison at any time, but that calling out a team-mate who shared the same mat and coach was not acceptable.

In this story

Kayla Harrison