UFC women’s bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison wants her superfight against Amanda Nunes, but she also wants to be fair to her division.

The MMA world eagerly has been waiting for the potential clash between Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC), considered the greatest female fighter of all time, and Harrison (19-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC), an Olympic gold medalist in judo and now UFC champion. It’s easily one of the biggest fights in MMA history, with a lot at stake for both decorated fighters. Finally, after years of waiting, the fight is closer than ever.

Nunes is planning on coming back from retirement to get her belt back. The bout was furthered teased by an intense faceoff in the cage fresh off Harrison’s championship win at UFC 316 in June.

Harrison expects the fight to be next, but surprisingly she’s also open to fight another contender should there be a delay in the making of the Nunes superfight.

“I have had the conversations with my coaches about how long do we wait before (we pivot), and I have an idea in my mind, like, ‘Hey, if I don’t have news by this time, then I’m just going to ask (for a different opponent),'” Harrison told MMA Junkie. “It’s also not fair for the division. I want to be conscientious of being a champion and being respectful of other fighters’ time and career. We all have a very short window. I would never want to put someone else’s dream on hold because, you know, that’s something that I do think about. I’m pretty sure (the Nunes fight is) going to happen. From everything I hear, she’s ready to go, she wants to fight, I want to fight. We’re just waiting on the details.”

There’s no official date or location for the Harrison-Nunes title bout, but Harrison expects it to be in the near future – likely the first quarter of 2026.

“For sure, I want to fight the beginning of next year for sure,” Harrison said.

Harrision vs. Nunes is one of the biggest fights that can be made, and one of the most high-profile women’s bouts in the history of MMA.

Nunes is a former two-division UFC champion, having held both the UFC women’s bantamweight and the now defunct women’s featherweight titles. The run that made her the GOAT spanned from 2015 to 2023 in which she went unbeaten for 12 fights before losing her belt, regaining it and defending it once more. In that span, she defeated Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm, Chris Cyborg, Miesha Tate, Valentina Shevchenko, and other notable names. Nunes retired in 2023, wanting to take a break and focus on her family and personal life. Now 37, she has confirmed her plans to return publicly and reclaim the belt she vacated.

Harrison entered MMA with a prestigious background in judo, having won two Olympic gold medals and many other elite-level tournaments. In MMA, she’s won two PFL championships, one in 2019 and the other in 2021, and recently won the UFC women’s bantamweight title with a seamless submission win over Julianna Peña. Harrison has only lost once in her career, a decision loss to Larissa Pacheco, whom she defeated twice before.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: When is Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes happening? UFC champ answers

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