UFC women’s bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison has been forced to pull out of her scheduled title defense against Amanda Nunes at UFC 324 on Jan. 24 after undergoing surgery to repair herniated discs in her neck. The withdrawal represents a significant blow to what was billed as one of the biggest fights in women’s MMA history
Kayla Harrison was injured prior to UFC 324
Harrison flew to New York last weekend to consult with UFC doctors, who recommended the procedure. She underwent surgery on Tuesday to address the injury, which will require at least six months of rehabilitation and training before she can return to competition. The procedure involved repairing multiple hernias, although specific details about the extent of the damage have not been made public.
The 35-year-old champion has been riding high since capturing the bantamweight title at UFC 316 on June 7, 2025, where she submitted Julianna Peña via kimura at 4:55 of the second round. The two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo had maintained a perfect 3-0 record in the UFC since signing with the promotion in January 2024, including victories over former champion Holly Holm, Ketlen Vieira and Peña.
The match with Nunes brought with it a lot of expectations and personal history. Both fighters had previously trained together at American Top Team in Florida before Nunes left the gym in 2021 following her loss to Peña. Nunes later confirmed that Harrison’s presence in the gym influenced her decision to leave, stating that it would have caused problems for gym owner Dan Lambert if both future opponents continued to train under the same roof.
Nunes, widely considered the greatest women’s MMA fighter of all time, announced her retirement following a unanimous decision win over Irene Aldana at UFC 289 in June 2023. The 35-year-old Brazilian came out of retirement specifically to face Harrison after the Olympic champion won the UFC title. At 23-5 in her career, Nunes is a former two-division champion who held both the bantamweight and featherweight titles during a dominant 12-fight winning streak.
UFC 324 would serve as the debut event under the promotion’s new seven-year, $7.7 billion broadcast deal with Paramount+, and would be the first numbered UFC event not available on traditional pay-per-view in the United States since UFC 267 in 2021. The card is headlined by an interim lightweight title fight between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
According to reports, the Harrison vs. Nunes fight will be rescheduled for a later date in 2026, although no specific timeline has been announced. It remains unclear whether the UFC will book Nunes for an interim title fight or if the promotion will wait for Harrison to recover before rescheduling the bout.
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