Kayla Harrison is living in a moment many fighters spend a lifetime chasing. She’s co-headlining the UFC’s first Paramount-era card on January 24, defending her bantamweight crown against Amanda Nunes, the woman widely regarded as the GOAT of women’s MMA. And as she put it herself this week during an interview with Bloody Elbow, “I’m grateful for her willingness to come back and put her legacy on the line. Yeah, dude, all my dreams are coming true.”

Harrison isn’t just fighting for a belt at UFC 324, she’s fighting at the center of a seismic shift in the sport. A $7.7 billion broadcast deal and what could be the biggest women’s fight of 2026. But here’s the twist: while Harrison is preparing for a legacy-defining showdown with Nunes, her camp is already discussing what comes after, and those options might shake the division even harder than her title defense. According to her manager, Ali Abdelaziz, Harrison’s post-UFC 324 choices involve two giants of women’s MMA. One is a superfight. The other is a resurrection.

Kayla Harrison’s manager claims Ronda Rousey and Valentina Shevchenko are in their crosshairs next

That revelation came directly from Abdelaziz, who told TMZ Sports, “Kayla beats [Amanda] by dominating fashion, stops her, and after that, Kayla will have two options. Ronda Rousey will come out of the grave and step up and she will have to pay for everything she’s said and done, cause a lot of beef happened.”

The second option? He continued, “Or maybe Valentina [Shevchenko] is gonna go up [135 lbs.] and do a super fight. These are the two steps I’d love for Kayla to make.”

It’s rare to hear a manager speak so boldly, and even rarer when both potential opponents are two of the most decorated women in MMA history. To understand the magnitude of those names, look at the careers involved. Amanda Nunes, Harrison’s UFC 324 opponent, holds wins over Shevchenko and Ronda Rousey. She retired after beating Irene Aldana in 2023, entered the Hall of Fame in 2025, and still felt compelled to return because Harrison had become that good, that quickly.

‘Rowdy’, meanwhile, remains the most iconic figure in women’s MMA history. An Olympic judo medalist like Harrison, she went 12-0 before Holly Holm handed her a shocking knockout at UFC 193. One year later, Nunes finished the job. Rousey walked away from the sport, dominated WWE, built a family, and left MMA behind. Or so it seemed.

Because in the past few months, she has posted MMA-related training clips on Instagram, the kind of posts that make fans squint and wonder. Is she hinting at something? Is the fire back? She hasn’t confirmed anything publicly, but Abdelaziz’s comments poured gasoline on the speculation.

And if Rousey ever did return, a matchup with Harrison wouldn’t just be a superfight, it would be a historic collision. Two Olympic medalists. Two judo prodigies. Two athletes who met once before, all the way back in 2005, when an 18-year-old Rousey edged a determined 15-year-old Harrison in a tense judo match. In fact, Harrison herself believes she just needs two more wins to usurp Nune’s throne as the female MMA GOAT!

Harrison is aiming to be “the greatest of all time” with wins over Amanda Nunes and Shevchenko

So what does that road look like from Kayla Harrison’s perspective? In her mind, it’s surprisingly simple: beat Amanda Nunes, then beat Valentina Shevchenko. Two names. Two mountains. Two fights that could redefine her entire legacy.

As she recently told Bloody Elbow, “When I beat Amanda (and Shevchenko), that will make me the greatest of all time for a finite period of time, and then the next Amanda, the next Valentina, the next Kayla will come and stand on my shoulders.”

Her rise has been nothing short of electric. She submitted Holly Holm and outclassed Ketlen Vieira before taking Julianna Peña’s belt earlier this year. But her next challenge is not just another contender, it’s the woman who once ruled the division with an iron fist, making their Jan. 24 collision at UFC 324 far more than a title defense. It’s a battle for legacy.

And maybe that’s the magic of this moment. As the Paramount era launches and the spotlight brightens, it’s the start of a chase for greatness. A chase that might end with Kayla Harrison rewriting history or Ronda Rousey stepping out of the shadows to reclaim a throne she once ruled alone!