If an image can speak volumes, Kayla Harrison appears to be saying all the right things. Less than three weeks after undergoing neck surgery that forced her out of her long-awaited superfight with Amanda Nunes at UFC 324, Harrison is already back inside the gym mentally strong, smiling, and focused on the road ahead.
Harrison (19-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC), who was scheduled to defend her women’s bantamweight title against Nunes, recently shared a moment from American Top Team on Instagram. Wearing a neck brace and visibly marked by the scar from surgery to replace a disc in her neck, the champion showed resolve rather than frustration as she walked back into her training home.
A Long-Overdue Procedure
While the timing couldn’t have been worse, Harrison’s manager Ali Abdelaziz revealed the surgery was something she had needed for years.
“Kayla, for the last 10 years, she had 20 percent of the power in her arm because of the neck,” Abdelaziz told MMA Junkie. “She couldn’t even grip nothing. For the first time in 10 years, she doesn’t have pain.”
According to Abdelaziz, Harrison has dealt with the issue since before her MMA debut in June 2018, grinding through elite competition while compromised physically including championship runs in the PFL and her rapid ascent to UFC gold.
“She replaced a disc in her neck,” Abdelaziz said. “I had the same surgery, and my neck now is stronger than when I was 20 years old. She had a great doctor, a really good surgery. She’s going to come back with a vengeance like she’s the challenger, not the champion.”
White House Card Still the Target If Healthy
Harrison, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time PFL champion, made it clear prior to her UFC 324 withdrawal that she hoped to defeat Nunes and then compete on the UFC’s planned White House card in June a goal that remains in the back of her mind.
Abdelaziz, however, emphasized that health will dictate everything.
“All the time I say you have to be at least 80 or 90 percent healthy,” he said. “Nobody is ever 100 percent. If she’s healthy by the White House, she will fight at the White House. If she’s not, she’s not.”
He also pushed back on narratives suggesting the UFC pressures fighters to compete while injured.
“If you’re really compromised, they’re not going to let you fight,” Abdelaziz said. “She wanted to fight at UFC 324. The doctor said, ‘If something happens, you will be paralyzed.’ I told her, ‘You’re not f*cking fighting. You’re doing the surgery.’ The UFC agreed with me.”
Bigger Picture
For Harrison, the surgery may ultimately extend her career and elevate her already frightening physical ceiling. For the UFC, it delays but does not erase one of the most significant women’s fights in promotional history.
If her recovery goes as planned, Harrison’s eventual return may not look like a champion resuming business as usual but rather a fully healthy force finally unleashed.
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Robert LaMar is a writer for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X via @RobertLaMar26
