Amanda Nunes confirms mammoth UFC return after intense staredown with new champion Kayla Harrison

Nunes has not fought since retiring from MMA in 2023

Amanda Nunes has confirmed her intention to make a mammoth return to the UFC after engaging in an intense staredown with newly-crowned bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison.

Nunes is widely considered the greatest women’s fighter in UFC history, boasting the accolade as the first women to ever hold two title simultaneously while also holding the record for longest unbeaten streak in women’s UFC history on nine.

She bid farewell to the sport in 2023, retiring on top as she vacated both her titles to enjoy her riches and focus on her family.

Now, however, she appears to be on her way back to the cage after Harrison invited her into the Octagon following her title win at UFC 316, stoking the fire for a mouth-watering title clash down the line.

“I see you Amanda,” she said in her post-fight interview. “Come on up. This is the next fight.

“This is the greatest fighter of all time, for a long time I’ve said I want what she has. I have a belt, she has a legacy, let’s put it all on the line.”

Kayla Harrison was crowned bantamweight champion at UFC 316 (Getty Images)

Joe Rogan asked Nunes if she planned to accept the challenge, to which the former two-division champion said: “Yes definitely. We knew this was going to happen. Now, we’re going to do it. I’m more than happy to come back and fight you.”

After exchanging pleasantries, the pair then got the money shot in a vehement staredown in the middle of the Octagon, evoking a raucous reaction from the New Jersey crowd.

It leaves the women’s bantamweight division in its strongest position in years, now with a marquee bout in the pipeline.

The announcement preceded Merab Dvalishvili’s bantamweight title rematch with Sean O’Malley, which the Georgian steamrolled to victory in to stake his claim as the best to ever do it in his division.