Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes staged a Times Square faceoff as their bantamweight title fight at UFC 334 approaches at Madison Square Garden.
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Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes brought UFC 334 fight-week excitement to Times Square on Nov. 10, 2026, when the two women faced off in New York City ahead of their co-main event bout at Madison Square Garden.
The matchup is the return of UFC women’s stars Harrison and Nunes, with the fight scheduled for Harrison’s bantamweight title at UFC 334 on “Saturday night” at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Nunes, who primarily fights in Las Vegas, said the extra preparation time helped after Harrison’s neck injury delayed their original January date at UFC 324. Speaking at media day Wednesday, Nunes said, “More time to [prepare] for the fight was better,” adding that it was “amazing” to fight in New York.
Nunes also described competing at Madison Square Garden as a long-term goal, telling reporters, “I came to New York when I was 20 years old to chase this dream [to become a champion], and now I’m gonna fight in New York [at Madison Square Garden]. This is amazing.” She also said she was “slightly bummed out” by the rescheduling, but was reassured by UFC CEO Dana White’s commitment to move the fight.
Harrison echoed the sentiment that the delay has been beneficial for her recovery, saying, “Yeah, it feels damn good,” and praising both her health and Nunes for waiting to make the fight happen. She also said the rescheduling was “best-case scenario,” describing the recovery as “night-and-day” compared with where she had expected to be.
Explaining the timeline, Harrison said she hadn’t had spinal neck surgery before and described uncertainty about how she would avoid being “in pain 24/7.” She added that the longer layoff helped her come in more confident, saying, “The long layoff was really good for me,” and that she has “healed and feel more confident.”
Fight week continues with the two women taking the podium together for Thursday’s presser, as Harrison-Nunes serves as a precursor to the UFC heavyweight title fight between Ciryl Gane and Josh Hokit.
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