Kayla Harrison said “the road back starts now” in her first public comments since withdrawing from her anticipated UFC 324 co-main event matchup with Amanda Nunes.
The reigning UFC women’s bantamweight champion sustained a neck injury ahead of the Jan. 24 event, which kicks off the organization’s 2026 schedule, and the bout has been postponed indefinitely.
Harrison confirmed she underwent surgery on her neck earlier this week. It’s currently unclear exactly how many months she’ll require to fully recover from the procedure and rehabilitate.
“This is a tough one. I had to have surgery on my neck yesterday here in New York City with a specialist,” an emotional Harrison explained in a video statement posted to social media one day after her injury was first disclosed. “Obviously we’re going to have to reschedule the fight and I just want to say I’m sorry. I’m sorry to Amanda. I was really looking forward to it.”
Harrison is a two-time Olympic gold medallist in judo and became the second Olympic champion to also win a UFC title when she became 135-pound titleholder at UFC 316 in June, when she submitted Julianna Pena.
Nunes is coming out of retirement to face Harrison. The Brazilian legend, who has already been inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, is considered the greatest women’s fighter in UFC history but hasn’t fought in 2.5 years. Nunes is a former two-weight champion with multiple title defences at 135 pounds and in the defunct women’s 145-pound division.
The 37-year-old had been doing some training with Larissa Pacheco, the only fighter to date to hold a win over Harrison. Pacheco won a five-round decision over Harrison in 2022 when the pair competed in the Professional Fighters League at 155 pounds. It’s worth noting that Harrison had previously beaten Pacheco twice.
Harrison is 3-0 since joining the UFC in 2024, also earning wins over Holly Holm and Ketlen Vieira in her first two UFC appearances prior to earning her title shot.
UFC 324, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, is scheduled to be headlined by an interim lightweight title fight between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett. A men’s bantamweight bout featuring former champion Sean O’Malley and rising contender Song Yadong has been bumped up into the new co-main event slot.
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