Kayla Harrison still hopeful she can lure Amanda Nunes out of retirement: “I want to fight the best”

Kayla Harrison still hopes she can lure Amanda Nunes out of retirement.

Harrison and Nunes used to train together at American Top Team and many fans hoped the fight would happen down the line. Unfortunately, Harrison was in the PFL while Nunes ended up retiring from MMA. But, with Harrison now signed to the UFC and set to make her promotional debut on Saturday at UFC 300 against Holly Holm, Harrison is hopeful with a win she can lure Nunes out of retirement.

“That would be fantastic. I think that, yeah I want to fight the best, she’s the GOAT for a reason and I would love for her to come back and get pissed off enough to want to come back. First things first, Saturday night, Holly Holm,” Kayla Harrison said at UFC 300 media day.

If Harrison does beat Holm, she would likely be in line for a title shot next time out. If the Olympic gold medalist can become a UFC champion, perhaps that will be enough to try and lure Amanda Nunes out of retirement. Nunes, meanwhile, has also already hinted at potentially coming back out of retirement following UFC 297.

“I’m still young, fresh,” Nunes said. “We never know [what might happen]. We have a lot of things to do. I’ve got to figure out a bunch of things at home still, what I’m going to do and see what happens. I don’t know — we never know,” Nunes said. “I’m a fighter and this is my job. I love this so much, and I don’t know. I enjoy as well not being in the gym everyday and having a normal life, stay home a little bit and be lazy. I [can’t be] lazy as a fighter, it’s very hard. But I’m still healthy and powerful, smart, think like a champion. I still feel like a champion, so we’ll see.”

If Nunes does come out of retirement and fights Harrison for the title, it would be one of the biggest fights the UFC could make.