UFC champion Harrison reveals she considered retirement ahead of Nunes fight

UFC women's bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison (36, United States) has opened up about contemplating retirement ahead of her showdown with Amanda Nunes (38, Brazil), revealing she overcame a serious neck injury and surgery to make her first title defense against the fighter widely regarded as the greatest women's MMA competitor of all time.

In a recent interview with Uncrowned, Harrison discussed her injury, rehabilitation and the possibility of walking away from the sport, according to MMA Fighting.

Harrison had long dealt with problems across five cervical discs. She managed the condition with treatment, but her symptoms worsened in December last year. "My arm was going numb, three fingers had no feeling. Then lightning-bolt pain set in and I lost strength in my right arm," she said.

Tests revealed two discs were severely compressing nerves, and she ultimately underwent surgery in January to fuse two vertebrae. Her title defense against Nunes, originally scheduled for UFC 324 on Jan. 25, was postponed. After the operation, she wore a neck brace for eight weeks and was prohibited from lifting heavy objects.

"There were moments where I thought I might not be able to fight anymore," Harrison said. "I was preparing for the most important fight of my life and suddenly I couldn't do anything."

She added that she is already at peace with her career. "I'm already satisfied with what I've accomplished. If I walked away tomorrow, I'd be OK," she said, leaving open the possibility of retirement after the Nunes bout. "This fight is for me. Amanda brings out the best in me."

The matchup has drawn attention as a contest to settle who deserves the title of the greatest women's MMA fighter ever. Nunes is a legendary two-division champion who held both the UFC women's bantamweight and featherweight titles. She finished Ronda Rousey and Cris Cyborg in the first round and defeated Valentina Shevchenko twice.

Harrison's résumé is equally impressive. She won back-to-back Olympic gold medals in judo's women's over-78-kilogram division at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, then claimed the PFL championship twice before defeating Julianna Peña in June last year to capture the UFC bantamweight title.

Comparisons with Rousey, once the face of women's MMA, have also generated buzz. In a recent interview, Harrison expressed confidence that she would have beaten Rousey in her prime.

Harrison noted that she trained the armbar at the same gym as Rousey. "Do you think she could armbar me? Don't be ridiculous," she said. While crediting Rousey's pioneering contributions to the sport, she questioned the level of competition Rousey faced at the time.

Harrison and Nunes meet in the co-main event of UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 15 (local time). It will be Harrison's first title defense and Nunes' return to competition for the first time in roughly three years and five months since her retirement in 2023.

Harrison carries a 19-1 MMA record into the fight; Nunes is 23-5. The bout, billed as the definitive answer to the greatest-women's-MMA-fighter debate, could also prove to be Harrison's final fight.