Amanda Nunes is returning to face Kayla Harrison for the title at UFC 324

Amanda Nunes is officially returning to mixed martial arts competition and will face Kayla Harrison for the women’s bantamweight title in early 2026.

Dana White announced Thursday that the five-round championship matchup will take place at UFC 324 on January 24 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

White announced shortly after on social media that the main event of UFC 325, which takes place next week in Sydney, will feature Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes.

Nunes is considered the greatest female fighter in UFC history, but has not fought in 2.5 years since announcing her retirement at UFC 289 title defense against Irene Aldana.

Harrison became the 135-pound champion at UFC 316 in June when she submitted Julianna Pena to become the new champion, after which she challenged Nunes, who was watching from cageside.

The Brazilian legend was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame this past summer but also announced that she was planning a return to the cage and preparing to face the winner of Harrison vs. Pena.

The pair previously trained together at American Top Team in Florida when Harrison first started MMA before Nunes eventually left the gym.

“I feel like we knew it was going to happen. … I know you’ve been preparing (to fight me) and now we’re going to do it,” Nunes said to Harrison at UFC 316.

Harrison vs. Nunes will be the second women’s superfight in just a few months after flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko recently defeated longtime strawweight champion Zhang Weili at UFC 322, as Zhang looks to join Nunes as the only two-weight women’s champion in UFC history.

Nunes went 16-2 in the UFC from 2013 to 2023, during which she set several records, including the longest winning streak in UFC women’s history (12), the most finishes in UFC women’s history (10), and becoming the first woman to hold two division titles. Nunes was the reigning 135-pound champion when she knocked out Cris Cyborg in 2018 to become the concurrent 145-pound champion.

The 37-year-old also holds notable wins over former UFC champions Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, Holly Holm, Raquel Pennington, Germaine de Randamie, Juliana Pena and a pair of close decisions over Shevchenko before Shevchenko dropped down in her natural weight class at 125 pounds.

Harrison is a two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo and joins Henry Cajudo as the only other Olympic champion to also win a UFC title.

Following his incredible judo career, Harrison transitioned to MMA and developed. She had her first pro MMA bout in 2018 and has since amassed a 19-1 record in the sport. Before joining the UFC in 2024, Harrison was a champion in the Professional Fighter League, primarily competing in the 155-pound division. Her lone loss was a five-round decision to Larissa Pacheco in 2022, a fighter Harrison had beaten twice before.

The UFC folded its women’s 145-pound division while Nunes was champion, so when Harrison joined the UFC she had to drop down to 135 pounds. Harrison has made weight for all of his UFC appearances but has noted how difficult it is to beat the weight limit.

The 35-year-old American earned her first two UFC title shots in 2024 by defeating Holly Holm and Kaitlyn Vera. His victory over Pena was his only appearance in 2025.

UFC 324 will mark Harrison’s second fight in Las Vegas. It will be Nunes’ 10th time in Las Vegas. Both of Nunes’ UFC losses have been there.