New York — UFC women’s bantamweight champ Kayla Harrison, returning from neck surgery this Saturday at UFC 334, admits that when it comes to former teammate Amanda Nunes, “we’re not friends anymore. This is a fight.”
That having been said, ahead of the card’s co-main event, American Top Team owner Dan Lambert had suggested that the two actually hated each other. That’s something Harrison downplayed on Wednesday, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press.
“There’s no hate at all. Zero hate,” stated Harrison (19-1), who was supposed to face Nunes almost a year ago, only for a neck injury to derail the fight. “This is not a Colby-Masvidal, this is not a bad blood grudge fight. This is two women who, I truly believe that I am the best in the world, and I think she believes that she is the best in the world. And we are going to go out on Saturday night, and we are going to leave it all out there and hopefully have the greatest fight of all time for women, for now.”
“But I have zero hate in my heart,” Harrison continued, suggesting Lambert was being “WWE Dan” (he has, after all, had some involvement in pro wrestling). “I don’t have hate in my heart for anybody, and that’s saying something, because I’ve been f*cked over.”
Harrison continues to train at American Top Team, Nunes’s former home. “The Lioness” left the gym towards the end of her first run in MMA, setting up her own camp.
As for Harrison’s approach to the fight, which sees Nunes return from retirement, “I think that my job is to go out there and make tough spots. And to put the pressure on. To be smart, but to put the pressure on.”
“There’s no quit in me, and I think that that’s why this fight is so exciting. No only are we old training partners, but now you have the classic striker versus grappler. And when it comes to fighting styles, we couldn’t be more different in my opinion.”
Harrison’s coach sees two types of athletes: thoroughbreds and workhorses. “I’m a workhorse, and she’s a thoroughbred. She’s big and flashy and she’s got a lot of knockouts and highlight reels, and more of a grind it out, grit fighter. We’re about to go find out.”
Given the severity of Kayla Harrison’s recent neck troubles, there’s been speculation that UFC 334 could be her swan song. Asked whether this feels like her final fight week, she replied by saying “we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. We’ll see. I’m really grateful to be back, doing what I love again, against the greatest of all time. And I can’t wait.”
Watch the full UFC 334 media day appearance by Kayla Harrison above.