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Kayla Harrison has hit the jackpot. The two-time Olympic champion added more gold to her trophy case, winning the UFC women’s bantamweight championship and setting up a valuable fight with soon-to-be Hall of Famer Amanda Nunes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite being the challenger, Harrison entered UFC 316 as the biggest betting favorite on the card. The Olympic judoka lived up to her reputation, dominating two-time UFC champion Julianna Pena from bell to bell. In Round 2, Harrison latched onto a kimura, wrenching Pena’s arm and shoulder back. There were only seconds left in the round, but Pena frantically tapped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“This is for anyone who’s ever felt hopeless, who’s wanted to quit or give up,” Harrison said during her post-fight interview, referring to her difficult weight cut. “I’ll tell you what, on Thursday, I wanted to quit and give up.<\/p>\n
“You gotta go to a bad place.”<\/p>\n
Heading into UFC 316, there was a prize at stake arguably more valuable than the UFC women’s bantamweight championship: a fight with Nunes. The former two-division champion, who will enter the UFC Hall of Fame<\/a><\/span>\u00a0later this month, confirmed she was ending her retirement<\/a><\/span>\u00a0this week to fight the winner of Saturday’s co-main event.<\/p>\n Harrison beckoned Nunes, who was seated cageside, to join her in the Octagon.<\/p>\n “We knew this was going to happen,” Nunes told her former American Top Team training partner.<\/p>\n “This is the greatest fighter of all time,” Harrison said. “For a long time I’ve said, I want what she wants. She has the legacy, I have the belt. Let’s put them on the table.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n