Kayla Harrison says she was close to permanent nerve damage before surgery

The UFC women's bantamweight champion, who had five herniated discs operated on at the start of the year, defends her title against Amanda Nunes at UFC 334 in New York on Saturday.

By Combat Sports UK Staff · Published Thu 12 Nov, 18:14 UK · AI-assisted reporting

UFC women's bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison said damage to her neck had left her close to permanent nerve damage by the time she underwent surgery at the start of the year. The operation repaired five herniated discs that had built up over a lifetime in combat sports.

The surgery forced the postponement of her title defence against Amanda Nunes, which had been set for January. The rescheduled bout now takes place at UFC 334 in New York on Saturday and is being billed as one of the biggest women's MMA fights of all time.

Harrison, 36, said she had been training as though nothing was wrong and was in the best shape of her life before spending eight weeks in a neck brace. She said: “Physically, I was preparing for the biggest fight of my life, and I was obviously having an immense amount of pain, having lightning bolts.” The recovery left the American questioning whether she would fight again. She said she was afraid of injuring her neck a second time and struggled with confidence when she finally returned to the mat, adding that the prospect of facing Nunes drove her comeback. Harrison said: “So, I had a lot of soul-searching to do. If I was just being a mum, I could be fine. But getting back to the Kayla that I was, was really hard. It's been hard, but it's been worth it.” Nunes, 38, retired in 2023 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time. The Brazilian is a former featherweight and bantamweight champion and the only woman to hold UFC titles in two weight classes simultaneously. The pair are friends and trained together at American Top Team until Nunes left the gym in 2022.

Harrison, a two-time Olympic judo gold medallist and two-time PFL champion, won the UFC title last year in only her third fight with the promotion. She has won 19 of her 20 fights since her MMA debut in 2018, losing only to Larissa Pacheco in 2022.

She would not confirm whether Saturday's fight will be her last. Harrison said: “We'll see. I'm really grateful to be back doing what I love again against the greatest of all time, and I can't wait.”

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Kayla Harrison