‘Finally’… Daniel Cormier thrilled after UFC 316 set up a rare fight that ‘really does matter’

Daniel Cormier reacts to UFC 316 setting up Kayla Harrison vs Amanda Nunes

During Harrison’s post-fight interview with Joe Rogan at UFC 316, the American invited Amanda Nunes into the Octagon.

‘The Lioness’ has been retired since giving up her two UFC titles in 2023 but announced her plans to mount a widely predicted comeback toward the start of this year.

With Saturday’s co-main event expected to determine her opponent, Nunes was close by to witness her former teammate Harrison having the gold wrapped around her waist.

The bantamweight division has long been considered the weakest of the UFC’s three female weight classes, so Cormier was relieved to finally see an important fight set up in Newark.

“It has it all,” Cormier said of Harrison vs. Nunes while speaking to Michael Eaves on ESPN’s SportsCenter. “When Kayla Harrison first started as an Olympian champion, she went to South Florida and joined American Top Team.

“Amanda Nunes was like, ‘Wait a minute, an Olympic champ moving in to train? I’m out! She knew that at some point she would have to deal with this young lady (Harrison). It’s got the back story, it’s got the two most dominant fighters, it has got everything!

“We finally get a fight in the women’s bantamweight division that really does matter. We went around in a circle, Eaves, to get here, but we’re finally here with the biggest fight that we can make at 135 pounds.

“I cannot wait for this one,” Cormier concluded.

UFC star who’s trained with both predicts Kayla Harrison will beat Amanda Nunes 

Talk of Harrison and Nunes colliding has existed ever since the latter left American Top Team due to the two-time Olympic champion’s presence.

But for other prominent names in the training room, the fight was always brewing.

That looked to be the case for Jorge Masvidal, who assessed the bout during an appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani in April 2024.

Having trained with both Harrison and Nunes and caught a glimpse of them on the mats together, ‘Gamebred’ narrowly gave the edge to his compatriot, who was just one fight into her UFC career at the time.

“I was there for one of them (training sessions), not the one that I wanted to be. The first time that they trained, I didn’t get to see that one. I heard all about it and I would spill my guts to you but you can’t really do that.

“I was there for other ones and I can tell you it’s a f—— PPV. It’s a PPV because it’s just they’re both felines who are not going to give an inch to no other chick.

“I’ll put my money on Kayla right now,” Masvidal added. “Don’t kick my ass Amanda, she’s gonna beat me up now. But yeah, I’m gonna put my money on Kayla.”

With Nunes remaining on the sidelines ever since and Harrison working her way to the title with pure domination at UFC 316, it seems unlikely that Masvidal would change his prediction as things stand.