Nunes Sees Same Old Mistakes in Harrison Before UFC 334

October 20, 2026 · Fighter Talk

Amanda Nunes says Kayla Harrison has not changed much since the two shared a gym. "The Lioness" is confident she holds the advantage when they meet in the Nov. 14 co-main event of UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Harrison, the reigning UFC bantamweight champion, trained at American Top Team while Nunes held titles at 135 and 145 pounds. At that time Harrison was moving from two-time Olympic judo champion to MMA contender. Both fighters have said that Harrison's eventual arrival in the UFC created tension in the gym. Nunes retired in 2023 and left a vacant title that reached Harrison two years later.

Lessons from sparring

"I spar Kayla before," Nunes said on the Deep Waters podcast. She said Harrison evolved a lot after first arriving at the gym, "but she still does the same mistakes since we sparred." Nunes added that she has studied her a great deal.

Nunes said she did not feel that Harrison was an open training partner. In her view Harrison is not much involved with the women at the gym and gets along better with the men. Nunes said they tried many times to work together, but it never happened. She also acknowledged that the looming fight may have made things awkward from the start.

Calling out a teammate

Nunes was also bothered by the way Harrison went after her. When Harrison started calling her out, she said, Harrison grabbed the microphone every chance she had and talked about her. "That's not good. We share the same mat."

She questioned why Harrison could not wait until she stepped down. "I'm the champion in that gym, I brought the belt to that gym," Nunes said, adding that she brought two belts. Someone in the gym, she said, should have told Harrison that the gym already had a champion and that she could try for the belt when Nunes retired.

Nunes has no problem with the fight itself: she fights for a living and will do it anytime. The problem, she said, is that the two share the same mat and the same coach, and that is "not cool."

Source: MMA Fighting