The UFC’s return to Canada for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic marked an unexpected end of an era, albeit a potentially temporary one, when Amanda Nunes announced her retirement following a UFC 289 main event win over Irene Aldana two years ago in Vancouver.
Nunes had defended the bantamweight title successfully on five occasions during her first reign and after avenging her lone title bout loss to Julianna Peña roughly a year prior and no other unquestioned contenders emerging, she was content to walk away on top.
Since then, there has only been one factor that has prevented this division from potentially fading into obscurity, which was the UFC signing two-time Olympic judo gold medallist and two-time PFL women’s lightweight tournament winner Kayla Harrison.
Harrison, who many felt would be unable to fight at 135 pounds after winning two tournaments at 155 pounds and competing in the Olympics at 172 pounds, vowed to do whatever it would take to be considered the greatest female combat athlete of all-time.
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Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley meet in a championship rematch and Kayla Harrison challenges Julianna Pena for the women’s bantamweight title. Watch UFC 316 on Saturday, June 7 with prelim coverage beginning 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT, and pay-per-view main card starting at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.
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While becoming the bantamweight champion was the stated goal due to it being the only outcome within her control, an opportunity to face Nunes was the grand prize, as it would offer the chance to show that she could defeat the consensus greatest female mixed martial artist of all-time.
If there was anyone who could lure Nunes out of what many considered an early retirement, it was Harrison, who was once a training partner of Nunes at American Top Team, where, following her loss to Peña, Nunes would depart and reinvent herself at her own private gym under the tutelage of Roger Krahl.
With Harrison breathing new life into an otherwise stagnating division, a Nunes return would capture the imagination of the mixed martial arts enthusiast like nothing else and create a superfight that would be the biggest matchup for the division since UFC 200 (when Nunes beat Miesha Tate to become champion) or the Ronda Rousey era.
The first sign that a Harrison bout would entice Nunes was following Harrison’s promotional debut at UFC 300, a second-round submission win over former champion Holly Holm, where Nunes posted a video of her reaction to Harrison’s post-fight interview.
Harrison would go on to win her next bout against Ketlen Vieira in a fashion that was convincing enough to earn her a shot at the current champion Peña, who defeated then-champion Raquel Pennington at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City.
Peña and Harrison are set to square off in this weekend’s UFC 316 co-main event in Newark, N.J.
The announcement of Peña vs. Harrison was enough to capture the imagination of Nunes, who told the media following her UFC Hall of Fame induction announcement earlier this year, that she would return to face the winner of the matchup.
“I’m ready, I’m in shape, so Kayla or Julianna, whoever holds that belt, that is my belt and I’m going to get my belt back,” Nunes told Sportsnet.
The possible return of Nunes raises stakes for UFC 316’s co-main event to the nth degree, with an opportunity to enter the annals of time for the winner, who would get an opportunity to face the greatest to ever do it.
For the UFC, it buys them time to revive the health of the division by building new contenders, with fighters like Norma Dumont, Ailin Perez, Jacqueline Cavalcanti and divisional newcomer Luana Santos starting to emerge as future title challengers.
For Harrison, an Olympic gold medal, her PFL accolades, a UFC championship and a win over Nunes would raise her profile to the sort of heights she had always envisioned when deciding to pursue MMA.
For Peña, becoming a two-time champion and being the only one to hold multiple victories over Nunes would undoubtedly put her into the top-five conversation.
Nunes, admittedly, does not have much to gain from her return, but risking a piece of her legacy is not a concern.
“It’s not risky, this is my sport, this my job. Why is it risky? I love to do this, I was born to do this,” Nunes told Sportsnet.
When Nunes decided to retire, the future of the women’s bantamweight division was murky and that could still be the case if she decides that her return is a one-and-done, but until then, Harrison’s signing with the UFC has given everyone, including Nunes, something to be excited about.