Кайла Харрисон Аманда Нунесийг буулган авч UFC 334 наадмын гол үйл явдлыг тодорхойллоо

There was a time this year Kayla Harrison wasn’t medically cleared to lift 20 pounds due to neck surgery. That didn’t stop her from defeating a returning legend of women’s MMA in a clash of all-time legacies.

An arduous year for the UFC bantamweight champ culminated in a win over former champ Amanda Nunes via fourth-round submission (rear-naked choke) at UFC 334. In a sequnce of only a few seconds, the two-time Olympic judo champion cemented herself as one of the best to ever to do it in MMA.

Nunes, who was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame last year, came out of retirement for the fight after a layoff of three-and-a-half years.

A Harrison-Nunes fight had been in the cards since Harrison took the Brazilian’s old title from Julianna Peña at UFC 316 in June 2025. It had been anticipated for even longer, going back to when Nunes was clearing out every other challenger in two UFC divisions while Harrison was starring for PFL.

Serious neck issues for Harrison left fans waiting a year and a half for the fight, which finally arrived as the co-main event in Madison Square Garden.

Amanda Nunes gave Kayla Harrison the fight she wanted

Nunes had the advantage early while both fighters were staying on their feet, landing more than a few hard strikes. That edge melted away after about three minutes, when Harrison trapped her on the ground and unleashed dozens of low-power shots to her face.

The second round began with Nunes seemingly trying to prove a point by grappling with Harrison, which did not go well. That was hardly a surprise against Harrison, who remains the only American to win an Olympic gold medal in judo (2012 and 2012) and carries significant bulk as a former lightweight who somehow finds a way to get down to 135 pounds.

Once again, Harrison got Nunes in a crucifix and kept landing shots. They didn’t do much damage, but they are why the stats have Harrison landing 169 total strikes to Nunes’ 62.

The third round went better for Nunes against a visibly gassed Harrison until, well, you can probably guess. Harrison had ground control by the end of the round, and this time landed shots that actually did damage. A huge elbow opened up a cut above Nunes’ right eye.

Then came the fourth round, which was trending toward the same flow until Harrison rocked Harrison caught a foot from Nunes, pulled her off balance and got her back. Nunes tapped out almost immediately.

The fight was the kind of grappling war that favored Harrison, almost by choice on Nunes’ part. Maybe it was a tactical decision to wear down the champion after her months of rehab and pain, or maybe it was pride on the part of a living legend, but it can’t be called a winning strategy now.

Is that it for Kayla Harrison? Or Amanda Nunes?

Adding to the drama of the fight is it’s unclear if we’ll see either fighter in the Octagon again.

Nunes can obviously do what she wants to do, but there isn’t much to be gained by jumping back into the contender pool at age 38. Harrison, meanwhile, has talked about retirement in the past and has been forced to deal with some immensely difficult weight cuts just to compete in the UFC’s heaviest remaining women’s division at bantamweight.

When asked about a possible retirement after the fight, Harrison was noncommittal:

“I’ve got a lot of decisions to make when I get home. Every time I make weight, I say never again, so we’ll see. I definitely have some injuries after that fight I’m going to have to heal up.”

She did, however, offer some perspective on a life that has reached heights she never could have expected:

“Sometimes, I can’t believe my life. I was sexually abused at a young age. Statistically, I’m not supposed to be here. To go from that — if you had told me at six years old this would be my life, if you had told me at 16 years old this would be my life, I wouldn’t believe you. I’m just really grateful.”

Check out complete UFC 334 results and highlights from Uncrowned’s fight night event hub.