“This is the greatest fighter of all time. For a long time, I’ve said, I want what she wants. She has the legacy, I have the belt. Let’s put them on the table,” said Kayla Harrison as she stood eye to eye with former champ Amanda Nunes in a face-off right after defeating Julianna Peña at UFC 316. And just like that, one of the most anticipated women’s bantamweight fights got cemented. However, since that intense face-off, the UFC hasn’t shared any details on when the fight will happen.

Well, Din Thomas once claimed on UFC Unfiltered that Nunes wanted to fight Harrison in December. However, as Merab Dvalishvili ended up taking that spot at UFC 323, fans started speculating that the UFC might be saving this fight for the White House event since the reigning 135 lbs queen is currently the only American champ on the roster. But in a massive twist, Harrison revealed an entirely different timeline for her fights, as she’s targeting two legendary matchups ahead of the June 14th event.

Kayla Harrison spills the beans on Amanda Nunes fight happening sooner

On Death Row MMA with Jorge Masvidal, ‘Gamebred’ asked Harrison about the status of her next fight, and she replied, “There’s a fight on the horizon.” Curious, Masvidal asked, “When and where?” Then she finally revealed, “I can’t say that, it’s not booked yet. It’s a fight that we all wanna see happen. And it’s gonna happen sooner rather than later.” Although Kayla didn’t take any names, it didn’t take much to guess the UFC is planning to match her against Amanda Nunes. Then, the conversation got even more interesting.

The former BMF champ thought Harrison might be hinting toward a possible UFC White House clash, so he asked, “Is it around a very patriotic celebration?” without directly revealing that he was referring to the White House event. Surprisingly, the women’s 135 lbs champ laid out her full plan, “Before that. In my perfect world, I fight soon, and then I fight again at the White House. But for sure, I’m gonna be on the White House card. I’m the only American champion currently.”

Kayla Harrison didn’t provide more details, but it’s pretty much sealed that the UFC is looking to book her against Nunes for an early Paramount card next year. And it’s definitely going to be an eye-stealer because there’s a little animosity brewing between them. After sharing a respectful face-off at UFC 316, Nunes revealed on ESPN’s post-show how the rivalry with Harrison began when they trained together at American Top Team and how ‘The Lioness’ left the gym because it was getting uncomfortable for her to share the gym with the former Olympian.

So, there’s definitely a compelling storyline here, one that the UFC will likely capitalize on early next year. But does that mean Harrison’s White House dreams are over? Not quite. 

‘Judo Queen’ targets UFC 322 co-main event fighter for UFC White House  

Since Harrison revealed that she won’t be fighting Amanda Nunes at the White House, that naturally pushed ‘Gamebred’ to ask, “Okay, and let’s say you fight this person that everyone wants you to fight, including myself. Is there somebody else after that?” In reply, the reigning women’s 135 lbs champ gave a surprisingly intriguing answer: she wants to fight the flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko, who’s scheduled to face ex-strawweight champ Zhang Weili at UFC 322, at the UFC White House event.

Harrison further added, “Oh, for sure, I’m not done. I’m gonna whoop her a— real quick, and I mean, in my perfect world, either Valentina beats Weili, and then we do like a… USA vs Russia, like Rocky IV style.” And that’s how she grabbed the UFC world’s attention with yet another possible superfight.

While Shevchenko and Harrison don’t have much of a rivalry, back in a 2021 interview with James Lynch, ‘Bullet’ mentioned that it would be difficult for the former Olympian to find opponents in the UFC because of her size. She said, “It is very hard, I think, for her to find someone really at a high level because of the weight class. If you have your natural power and weight, every time it’s best for you. Just my opinion, it will be very hard for her to find opponents [in the UFC].”

So, based on that old statement, if this matchup actually gains momentum as the White House event approaches, we might see another rivalry start to form. Moreover, Shevchenko told The Schmo in a June 6 interview that she’d be interested in moving up, probably for the Amanda trilogy, which reveals she’s open to adding some pounds.

That said, as Kayla Harrison gears up to face Amanda Nunes, do you think her plans are a little too ambitious right now? Or do you actually believe she could defeat one of the greatest of all time? Let us know in the comments below.