Kayla Harrison once told me that she has been chasing Ronda Rousey for as long as she can remember.
It seems that when Harrison signed with the UFC, her focus shifted from chasing Rousey to chasing Amanda Nunes.
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On Saturday night at UFC 334, she has a chance to catch both at once and do something Rousey has never done. Let’s talk UFC.
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Detail |
Info |
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Event |
UFC 334: Gane vs. Hokit |
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Date |
Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026 |
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Venue |
Madison Square Garden, New York |
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Fight |
Kayla Harrison (c) vs. Amanda Nunes, women’s bantamweight title |
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Billing |
Co-main event |
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Early Prelims |
5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT |
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Prelims |
7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT |
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Main Card |
9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT |
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Where to Watch (U.S.) |
Paramount+ |
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Records |
Harrison 19-1, Nunes 23-5 |
The bout is the co-main event under the heavyweight title fight between Ciryl Gane and Josh Hokit, so Harrison and Nunes should make the walk late in the main card.
As judokas who represented the United States in the Olympics and international competition, Harrison and Rousey have always been compared. Subsequently, Harrison has somewhat modeled her career after Rousey, going from judo to mixed martial arts.
Rousey has long since walked away from regular activity in MMA, even though she had a fight earlier this year against Gina Carano under the MVP banner. Most would consider her outside the active pool of fighters.
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So the unquestioned GOAT of women’s MMA is Nunes, whom Harrison has a chance to beat on Saturday to retain her UFC women’s bantamweight championship.
This is Harrison’s first title defense since she submitted Julianna Peña in the second round at UFC 316 to win the belt. Nunes, 38, retired after beating Irene Aldana at UFC 289 in June 2023 and returns after more than three years away.
Training with Rousey, modeling her career after her, and even some of the barbs they’ve traded on social media earlier this year have left the two seemingly eternally connected.
And while Harrison hasn’t made a habit of talking much about Rousey recently, it’s hard to imagine that she’s not still on her mind in some way.
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Opponent |
Rousey |
Harrison |
Nunes |
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Holly Holm |
Lost, KO, R2 (UFC 193, 2015) |
Won, submission, R2 (UFC 300, 2024) |
Won, TKO, R1 (UFC 239, 2019) |
|
Amanda Nunes |
Lost, TKO, R1, 0:48 (UFC 207, 2016) |
Saturday at UFC 334 |
N/A |
|
Julianna Peña |
Never fought |
Won, submission, R2 (UFC 316, 2025) |
Lost (UFC 269, 2021), won (UFC 277, 2022) |
Harrison’s UFC debut came at UFC 300, where she submitted Holly Holm, one of the two women who beat Rousey in MMA.
If Harrison were to beat Nunes on Saturday, not only would it signal that she’s accomplished something in MMA that Rousey never did, but she would also be beating the woman most consider to be the GOAT.
That would put Harrison squarely in that conversation, perhaps even at the head of it in some people’s opinions.
If Harrison beats Nunes on Saturday, it indirectly closes the conversation about Rousey. Her accomplishments and her impact on women’s MMA will never go away or be diminished, but Harrison emerging as a woman with a legitimate claim to GOAT status would essentially put Rousey in a previous era.
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Because there’s been crossover between Rousey and Nunes, and they fought each other, it’s easy to connect them. Even though Rousey is a little older than Nunes, it’s easy to say they’re somewhat in the same era.
But Harrison coming in after them and fighting Nunes at an advanced stage in her career seemingly makes this a next-era concept. It would push Rousey into a previous era rather than having her remain someone we discuss as part of the current upper tier of women’s MMA.
The card also features Stephen Thompson’s final Octagon appearance against Charles Radtke on the prelims.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com
