Harrison says she was 'on the verge of having permanent nerve damage' before surgery

Kayla Harrison says she was "on the verge of having permanent nerve damage" before undergoing neck and spinal surgery at the start of the year, and she will defend her UFC women's bantamweight world title against Amanda Nunes at UFC 334 in New York on Saturday.

The fight had been scheduled for January but was postponed when Harrison discovered she required an operation. The 36-year-old, a two-time Olympic judo gold medallist, underwent surgery to address five herniated discs in her neck that accumulated over a lifetime in combat sports, and the recovery left her questioning whether to continue in the sport.

"Physically, I was preparing for the biggest fight of my life, and I was obviously having an immense amount of pain, having lightning bolts," said Harrison.

"So, I was in the best shape of my life, as good of shape as I could be with that - and then I was in a neck brace for eight weeks."

"I did not feel like myself. I did not feel good - I did not feel good in my body."

The bout with Nunes is being billed as one of the biggest women's MMA fights of all time; the pair are friends and were team-mates at American Top Team Gym before Nunes left in 2022. Nunes, 38, is returning to the sport after retiring in 2023 and is a former featherweight and bantamweight champion, described in the article as "widely regarded as one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time" and the only woman to hold two UFC titles in two weight classes simultaneously.

Harrison was a two-time former PFL champion before claiming UFC gold in only her third fight in the promotion last year. Since her MMA debut in 2018 she has won 19 of her 20 fights, with her sole defeat coming against Larissa Pacheco in 2022.

"Mentally, to go from that high and that low is hard, and when I was finally able to get back on the mat, I really struggled with confidence," said Harrison. "I think I was so scared to hurt my neck again, number one. That lack of confidence made me question if I was ever gonna feel like me again. "So, I had a lot of soul-searching to do. If I was just being a mum, I could be fine. But getting back to the Kayla that I was, was really hard. It's been hard, but it's been worth it."

When asked about whether the Nunes fight might be her final bout, Harrison did not commit to a decision: "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," added Harrison. "We'll see. I'm really grateful to be back doing what I love again against the greatest of all time, and I can't wait."

Harrison will defend her UFC women's bantamweight world title against Amanda Nunes at UFC 334 in New York on Saturday.