Kayla Harrison feared her neck surgery could end her career. She's still fighting for her UFC title

NEW YORK (AP) — Kayla Harrison rubbed her hands down her shoulders as she described the lightning bolts of pain — so random and severe that they would shoot through her arms and jolt her awake in agony.

She detailed the numbness in her fingers. The pain pills. The daily suffering from five herniated disks in her neck that nearly knocked her out from fighting again.

The dark places her broken-down body took her left Harrison questioning whether she was still worthy of holding the UFC’s 135-pound championship.

She was a two-time Olympic judo gold medal champion immobilized in a neck brace for eight weeks and couldn’t lift more than 20 pounds.

“I did not feel good in my body,” Harrison said.

Despite the anguish of injuries accumulated throughout her decorated mixed martial arts career, Harrison could still see the light. She had a reason to keep rehabbing: not only to make it to the biggest fight of her career, but to compete in a matchup that stands as one of the biggest women’s fights in UFC history.

Harrison still has some doubts on how her surgically repaired neck will hold up inside the cage.

There is no doubt she is back and ready to defend her 135-pound championship at UFC 334 when she fights Amanda Nunes — also making a comeback, from retirement — on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

“For sure, Amanda being the one waiting for me at the end of the tunnel was a big help,” Harrison said. “It was important for me to find a way back to Amanda.”

Nunes is widely regarded as the greatest female fighter of all time. A UFC Hall of Famer, she held championships in two weight classes, lost only once in 12 UFC championship bouts and defeated the once-indomitable Ronda Rousey. She retired in 2023, citing burnout and a desire to spend more time with her wife as they raised their two young daughters.

Those credentials were motivation enough for Harrison to push her way back to compete.

Yet the incentives were a bit more personal. Harrison and Nunes were once training partners at American Top Team. Harrison was new to professional MMA in 2018 after her Olympic career ended and believed she had found a friend and a mentor in camp with Nunes. Nunes, already an established star, saw Harrison as a future star and rival and kept her distance from the hot new prospect who seemed destined for MMA stardom.

Nunes had little interest in rehashing her personal rivalry that has developed with Harrison. The 38-year-old Brazilian is simply focused on Saturday night and proving who really is the best female fighter in the game.

“No hate,” Nunes said. “It’s about the challenge that Kayla is bringing and how great it is for women’s MMA.”

As for the 36-year-old Harrison, who considered Nunes the GOAT and was grateful she waited this fight out as the delays mounted, she bluntly said of their relationship: “We're not friends anymore.”

Nunes vacated the 135-pound title when she retired in 2023. Harrison won the belt in June 2025 when she made Julianna Peña quit late in the second round with Nunes watching from the stands to win a championship in only her third UFC fight.

“I see you, Amanda! Come on up, Amanda,” Harrison bellowed from the cage.

Nunes entered the cage to confront Harrison, and the crowd went wild as the two engaged in a brief staredown.

The super fight seemed primed for UFC 324 in January of this year, while Harrison later held out hope for the White House card in June.

The injuries were just too much for Harrison to handle and the January neck surgery put her on the shelf.

“I didn’t know how I could not be in pain 24/7,” Harrison said. “The recovery was a lot longer than I anticipated. I had never had spinal, neck surgery before.”

Harrison (19-1) is in the longest inactive stretch of her career since she made her pro debut in 2018. She saw specialists who cautioned she could suffer permanent damage if she didn't have the neck surgery, and she says she still has two herniated disks that will need surgery once her career is over.

“When I was finally able to get back on the mat, I really struggled with confidence,” Harrison said. “I think I was so scared to hurt my neck again. That lack of confidence made me question if I was ever going to feel like me again. I had a lot of soul searching to do. A lot of digging deep. My neck didn't hurt when I wasn't training. If I was just being a mom, I could be fine. Getting back to the Kayla that I was was really, really hard.”

There is a very real possibility that Saturday could mark the final fight — win or lose — for both fighters.

Nunes expressed her admiration of the current young crop of 135-pounders, but she ended her two-year sabbatical for one fighter, and one fighter only, in Harrison. Harrison, who stacked the bulk of her wins in the Professional Fighters League , could keep fighting, if her body allows her to continue for another year or two.

Harrison knows she needs to beat Nunes (23-5) to stake her claim as the best in the sport — for now.

“I don't want to be the greatest of all time forever,” Harrison said. “I want the next generation to surpass; I want them to be the main event. I want them to be considered the greatest combat athlete of all time. Not the greatest female.”

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