Amanda Nunes vs. Kayla Harrison: Biggest Women’s MMA Fight Ever? originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
After Kayla Harrison’s dominant UFC 316 victory over Julianna Peña, the Olympic gold medalist called out Nunes in the Octagon. When Nunes entered the Octagon to face off with Harrison, the narrative of the greatest women’s MMA fighter of all time returning to face the relentless newcomer seeking to stamp her own legacy in the sport was officially set in motion.
The MMA world is buzzing with anticipation for this fight, and retired UFC legends Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen have declared on ESPN’s Good Guy/Bad Guy show that the potential superfight between Amanda Nunes and Kayla Harrison is the biggest women’s MMA fight ever.
Cormier, a UFC Hall of Famer who has trained with Harrison in the past, emphasized the historic stakes of the matchup, stating, “It feels, truly, like it is the biggest fight that we can make in women’s MMA history.”
Watch the full Good Guy/Bad Guy episode here:
Sonnen, never one to underhype a bout, agreed with Cormier’s sentiment, saying, “I’ll tell you this, I think they could break into the top ten [fights of all time]. I think the fight is this big, Daniel.”
The former UFC heel claimed the fight’s significance outweighs the usual pre-fight hype and theatrics of other major bouts.
“I watched them face off, and it was a very organic face-off. They said something that was very sweet, it was very sportsmanlike, but it was the truth,” Sonnen added. “Nothing in promotion works as well as the truth, and they simply said, ‘We both knew it was going to come to this.’”
Former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas also weighed in during UFC Atlanta media day, expressing excitement for the fight.
When asked about her opinion about the future matchup, she told reporters, “Man, that was really good for women’s MMA. I was very happy and very proud to see the way that the athletes handle themselves.”
While she has no official prediction for the future bout, she was intrigued by how it would potentially play out, saying, “It’ll be interesting to see how Kayla Harrison deals with Amanda’s striking. I think that’s probably mostly what everybody might be thinking, or might be the big question… but Amanda’s got great jiu-jitsu, and she’s super strong.”
While the UFC world is anticipating the matchup, logistical hurdles remain before the fight is close to official.
CEO Dana White revealed in the UFC 316 post-fight press conference that Nunes must re-enter the UFC Anti-Doping testing pool for six months before competing, pushing the earliest possible date to 2026.
With fighters like Namajunas rallying behind it and industry voices like Cormier and Sonnen amplifying its importance, this bout is poised to be a landmark moment that could redefine women’s MMA for years to come.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
