Kayla Harrison: record, style and what is next

Image: Fernando Frazao / Agencia Brasil, CC BY 2.0

Kayla Harrison is the UFC women's bantamweight champion and will defend the belt against Amanda Nunes at UFC 334 on 14 November 2026. As of 30 September 2026 her record is 19 wins and 1 loss, and the UFC athlete page lists her as champion and at number two in the pound-for-pound rankings. She is 3-0 in the UFC.

She was born on 2 July 1990 in Middletown, Ohio, and trains at American Top Team in Florida and worked with Jimmy Pedro in judo from her teens. The UFC lists her at 5 ft 8 in with a 66 inch reach. She is the first woman to win an Olympic gold medal and a UFC championship, according to Wikipedia, and she has not fought since she won the title in June 2025.

Harrison wins by taking control and finishing from there. Her base is judo, where she holds a sixth-degree black belt, and her MMA is built on the grip fight, the throw and the ground control that follows.

Her finishes show the pattern. She has won with armbars, a key lock, an arm triangle and a rear-naked choke, and in the UFC she beat Holly Holm with a choke in round two and finished Julianna Pena with a kimura in the second round. Against Ketlen Vieira she won a unanimous decision, which showed she can win rounds over 15 minutes without the finish.

Her record since joining the UFC backs that up: two submissions and a decision in three fights, against a former champion, a top contender and the reigning champion. The grappling is where her fights are decided.

Harrison started judo at six, introduced by her mother, and had won two national titles by 15. She moved to Boston to train with Jimmy Pedro and his father, won the 78 kg world title in 2010 (the first American to do so since 1999) and took bronze at the 2011 worlds. At the London Olympics on 2 August 2012 she beat Gemma Gibbons of Britain for gold, the first Olympic judo gold for an American, and she repeated it at Rio 2016 by beating Audrey Tcheumeo of France. In 2016 she was promoted to sixth dan, the youngest American to reach that rank.

She made her MMA debut at PFL 2 on 21 June 2018 with a first-round armbar of Brittney Elkin. In 2019 she won the PFL women's lightweight tournament, beating Larissa Pacheco in the final by unanimous decision on 31 December. She won it again in 2021, finishing Taylor Guardado with an armbar in the second round of the final. Pacheco beat her in the 2022 final by unanimous decision, which remains the only loss on her record.

The UFC announced her signing on 23 January 2024 with a bantamweight debut against former champion Holly Holm. She has not lost since the Pacheco fight.

Harrison beat Holm by rear-naked choke in the second round of UFC 300 in April 2024, then took a unanimous decision over Ketlen Vieira at UFC 307 in October 2024. The title shot against Julianna Pena followed.

UFC 316 in June 2025 was the title fight. Sports Illustrated reported that Harrison took a 10-8 first round after Pena lost a point for illegal upkicks, then cranked a kimura on Pena's left arm moments before the second round ended to win the belt. The win earned a Performance of the Night award. Nunes came into the cage afterwards and confirmed her comeback.

That fight was set for UFC 324 on 24 January 2026, but Harrison had surgery on herniated discs in her neck. Low Kick MMA reported on 14 January that she needed at least six months of rehabilitation. The fight was reportedly linked to UFC 331 on 19 September, but it was postponed again and is now booked for UFC 334. Her American Top Team coach Anderson Franca told MMA Sucka that she had made a great recovery and was back in full training.

Harrison defends the women's bantamweight title against Amanda Nunes in the co-main event of UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden on 14 November 2026, as Combat Press confirmed. It is her first fight in about 17 months and her first defence. The two were once training partners at American Top Team.

A win would mean beating a fighter widely regarded as the greatest woman in MMA history in her comeback fight. A loss would hand the belt back to a two-time champion and end the unbeaten UFC run. The big question is how the neck recovers over five rounds against a striker who has finished fights with head kicks and punches.

• UFC: Kayla Harrison athlete profile
• Wikipedia: Kayla Harrison
• Sports Illustrated: Amanda Nunes storms cage at UFC 316 to confirm comeback fight
• Low Kick MMA: Kayla Harrison withdraws from UFC 324 following neck surgery
• MMA Sucka: Kayla Harrison and UFC 334
• Combat Press: UFC 334 brings Gane vs. Hokit, Harrison vs. Nunes to Madison Square Garden

Is Kayla Harrison the UFC champion?

Yes. Harrison has been the UFC women's bantamweight champion since she beat Julianna Pena by second-round kimura at UFC 316 in June 2025. She has not fought since, and she defends the title against Amanda Nunes at UFC 334 on 14 November 2026.

What is Kayla Harrison's MMA record?

As of 30 September 2026, Harrison is 19-1, and 3-0 in the UFC with wins over Holly Holm, Ketlen Vieira and Julianna Pena. Her only loss was a unanimous decision to Larissa Pacheco in the 2022 PFL final. She is a two-time PFL champion.

Why was Kayla Harrison vs Amanda Nunes postponed?

The fight was booked for UFC 324 on 24 January 2026, but Harrison had surgery on herniated discs in her neck and withdrew. A later date linked to UFC 331 also fell through. It is now scheduled for UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden on 14 November 2026.

Did Kayla Harrison win Olympic gold?

Yes, twice. Harrison won the women's 78 kg judo gold at London 2012, beating Gemma Gibbons, and again at Rio 2016, beating Audrey Tcheumeo. She was the first American to win Olympic judo gold and she holds a sixth-degree black belt in judo.

What is Kayla Harrison's fighting style?

Harrison is a judo-based grappler. She uses grips, throws and top control, then finishes with submissions. Her UFC wins include a rear-naked choke on Holly Holm and a kimura on Julianna Pena, and her PFL wins included armbars, a key lock and an arm triangle.