Top UFC women's bantamweight calls out Kayla Harrison and Ali Abdelaziz should Julianna Pena be unavailable

One of the top women's bantamweight contenders expressed her wish to lock horns with Kayla Harrison for an interim title if the current champ, Julianna Pena stays unavailable to accept Harrison's challenge. The fighter also involved Harrison's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, in the equation.

Several UFC fans viewed Harrison as a championship-caliber fighter before her first in-octagon encounter. This was largely due to Harrison's record of being a PFL champion before moving to the UFC. The 34-year-old didn't disappoint her believers as she has ramped up victories in both her fights to date.

The UFC authorities are planning to pit Harrison against the undisputed women's bantamweight champ, Pena, next. But in a recent interview with MMA Junkie, her manager, Ali Abdelaziz, revealed that Harrison may have to fight for the interim title instead, because of Pena's health issues. He said:

"Julianna Pena, if she's not ready to fight Kayla(Harrison), [because] she might have some health problems, [then] it's going to be an interim title. 100 percent this is what's going to happen."

However, Harrison doesn't have a rival scheduled for this potential interim bantamweight title fight.

Following Abdelaziz's revelation, the current No. 4-ranked women's UFC bantamweight, Norma Dumont, called him and Harrison out to portray herself as a deserving contender for the potential interim title fight. Her comment on MMA Junkie's Instagram post read:

"Hey @aliabdelaziz and @kaylaharrisonofficial we can do this. I hope they don't accept a fight for the interim belt with an athlete who is coming off a defeat to Juliana. I am the athlete with the longest streak in the category and the only one who has the physical and technical capacity to overcome it. And you know it! So we're going to have a really interesting fight for the bantamweight category."

Norma Dumont's comment addressing Kayla Harrison and Ali Abdelaziz. [Screenshot Courtesy: @mmajunkie on Instagram]

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Ali Abdelaziz predicted one of Kayla Harrison's New Year's goals would come to life

The UFC brass recently questioned several fighters about their New Year's resolution through a DM. Later, they also revealed what the fighters responded with in an Instagram post. It showcased that Harrison had quite a few "goals" instead of resolutions.

Her words also revealed that becoming the undisputed UFC bantamweight champ was at the top of that list. Harrison penned:

"Well, I prefer goals, not resolutions. So aside from being the undisputed UFC bantamweight champion of the world, I'd say my personal goal is to be present in the moment, enjoy the journey, maintain a healthy balance, and be the best possible version of myself. Constantly growing and leveling up!"

Check out Kayla Harrison's reply in the fourth snap of the Instagram post below:

Her manager, Ali Abdelaziz, also showcased that he believes in Harrison's self-esteem. A recent X update from Abdelaziz had him predicting that Harrison's most important New Year goal of becoming the undisputed UFC bantamweight champ would come to life. Abdelaziz penned:

"2025 @KaylaH will be @ufc CHAMPION"