Harrison returns to full training nine months after emergency neck surgery for Nunes showdown

Kayla Harrison is back in full training nine months after emergency cervical spine surgery derailed her original UFC 324 main event against Amanda Nunes, with the bout now targeted for 14 November in New York.

American Top Team muay thai coach Anderson Franca confirmed the update, telling Sherdog that Harrison returned to full camp activity three weeks ago. “Her injury was very serious. She had to undergo surgery and spent several months unable to train, but she made a great recovery and, three weeks ago, returned to full training for the fight,” Franca said.

Harrison, a two-time Olympic judo gold medalist and reigning UFC women’s bantamweight champion, will face Nunes — the former two-division UFC champion widely regarded as the greatest women’s mixed martial artist of all time. The fight carries weight well beyond the title, according to Franca.

“Kayla is an Olympic champion driven by challenges. She wants to be known as the greatest of all time, and to achieve that she knows she has to beat Amanda, who is considered the GOAT today. So this is about more than the belt. It’s a fight for legacy, and it will be decided by the smallest details. Whoever makes fewer mistakes will leave with the title.”

Franca brings a unique perspective to Harrison’s corner. He was also a key coach in Nunes’ camp for her landmark 2018 victory over Cris Cyborg — a fight in which Nunes entered as the underdog. “I would say that victory was the second-biggest professional thrill of my career, after Edson Barboza’s retirement. But we are professionals. Now I’ll be on the other side, God willing, helping Kayla beat her,” he said.

The original matchup was scrapped when Harrison suffered the cervical spine injury that required immediate surgical intervention, leaving the bantamweight division without its headline clash. With Harrison now confirmed back in full preparation, the November date represents the first concrete step toward rescheduling one of the most anticipated fights in women’s MMA history.