Kayla Harrison Shares Post-Surgery Update Following UFC 324 Withdrawal

Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight champ Kayla
Harrison is starting the long road to recovery.

News broke Wednesday that Harrison, 35,
required and underwent surgery on her herniated disc(s) in her
neck. This ejected her from her co-main event championship tilt at
UFC 324 against all-time great Amanda
Nunes. Rather than slot in a replacement for Nunes on
ultra-short notice, the organization will table the bout until
later.

This withdrawal marks the first time that Harrison has pulled out
of a fight in her pro career that started in 2018. The two-time
Olympic gold medalist in judo picked up those awards in 2012 and
2016, and her skills translated to MMA to the point that she won
not one but two million-dollar tournaments with Professional Fighters League to build a record
of 14-0. While she suffered her first career loss at the hands of
Larissa
Pacheco in 2022, it came after she had already beaten the
Brazilian twice prior.

Bouncing into the UFC with a stellar win/loss tally of 15-1,
Harrison steamrolled ex-champ Holly Holm in
her UFC debut in 2024. A decision victory over Ketlen
Vieira springboarded her into a championship showdown with
Julianna
Pena, whom she wrangled and tapped in two rounds to win the
gold. Her first defense was slated for UFC 324, but that will have
to wait.

The Road Back Starts Now

“Hi guys,” the pained champ sporting a neck brace stated Thursday on social media while wiping away
tears. “I just wanted to give a bit of an update on my end. Yeah,
this is a tough one. I had to have surgery on my neck yesterday,
here in New York City with the specialist Dr. [Han Jo] Kim. In lieu
of that, obviously we’re going to have to reschedule the fight
[with Nunes]. And I just want to say, I’m sorry…to Amanda, I was
really looking forward to it.”

The promotion has since stated that it plans on rebooking this
fight at a later date. It has not yet elected to create an interim
belt or considered stripping Harrison of her title, although that
will depend on her currently undetermined return timetable.
According to a variety of orthopedic specialists, recovery from
herniated disc surgery can take upwards of 12 weeks to be able to
resume standard work duties, to say nothing about training and
engaging in combat sports.

The crestfallen yet grateful Harrison continued, “I just want to
thank everyone. I want to thank the UFC for taking such good care
of me. Dr. D [Jeff Davidson] and [Dr.] Jen [Neudorfer] and the
whole team over there. I want to thank Dr. Kim here in New York for
seeing me and taking such good care of me. I want to thank my mom,
who is taking care of my kids at home. I want to thank all my
coaches at American Top Team, and all my teammates. This is day one
of recovery, and the road back starts now. I don’t know God’s
plans, I know He knows that this is my dream. So, I gotta praise
Him in the mountains and I gotta praise Him in the valleys. And so,
I’m grateful for this, I hope that it brings me closer to Him and
that He uses this story in a mighty way. So that’s it. I’m sorry,
guys; I’ll be back soon. I’ll be back soon.”