Kayla Harrison: 'It Didn’t Really Make Sense to Me'

Kayla Harrison isn’t losing sleep over Amanda Nunes bringing in Larissa Pacheco for training ahead of UFC 324 even though Pacheco remains the only woman to defeat Harrison in MMA.

Harrison and Nunes are set to collide for the UFC women’s bantamweight title on Jan. 24 at T-Mobile Arena, serving as the co-main event of the UFC’s Paramount+ debut. While the decision by Nunes to work with Pacheco raised eyebrows given their shared history with Harrison, the reigning champion doesn’t believe the stylistic matchup offers much strategic value.

Harrison fought Pacheco three times under the Professional Fighters League banner between May 2019 and November 2022, winning the first two encounters by decision before dropping the third on the scorecards. In total, the rivals shared 13 rounds inside the cage experience that, on paper, could be useful to Nunes.

Harrison, however, sees it differently.

“It didn’t really make sense to me,” Harrison told MMA Junkie. “I’m a southpaw grappler and Larissa is an orthodox striker. But the more the merrier. That’s great. I love it when women help build each other up, so I think it’s awesome.”

In other words, Harrison doesn’t see Pacheco’s presence as a needle-mover when it comes to the actual fight dynamics.