5 reasons why Amanda Nunes vs. Kayla Harrison needs to happen

Amanda 'The Lioness' Nunes (L) vs. Kayla Harrison (R)
Amanda 'The Lioness' Nunes (L) vs. Kayla Harrison (R)

#2. The world will finally know how good Kayla Harrison is

There's a general feeling that Kayla Harrison is still, somehow, a newcomer in MMA. While the American's professional MMA career only began 4 years ago, she has taken part in 14 fights. Furthermore, she is a former world champion judoka and has won 2 Olympic gold medals in the martial art she has trained in since her childhood.

Unfortunately, Harrison suffers from a division starved for high-level competition. While she's been dominant in every single MMA bout she's had thus far, the reigning PFL women's lightweight champion is bereft of highly skilled opposition. Admittedly, this is through no fault of her own, as there are few women who compete in her current weight class.

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As a result, fight fans across the globe are unable to gauge the true extent of Harrison's abilities as a mixed martial artist due to the poor strength of her competition.

A bout with Amanda Nunes would quickly reveal just how good Kayla Harrison truly is. If she's victorious, the UFC will likely have another star judoka on their hands to fill the void left by Ronda Rousey.


#1. Claressa Shields isn't ready

The only other intriguing matchup for both Amanda Nunes and Kayla Harrison is a bout with world champion boxer Claressa Shields. Like Harrison, Shields made the jump to MMA with a point to prove. She wanted to solidify herself as the greatest female fighter of all-time, something she felt she'd be unable to do if she only stuck to boxing.

A matchup between Shields and Amanda Nunes was brought up during a TMZ interview with the latter. The Brazilian was probed for her thoughts on Shields' desire to face her in the future, prompting her to dismiss the world champion boxer's prospects of even amassing enough wins to sign with the UFC.

Claressa Shields signed with the PFL, and there was almost immediately fan interest in a potential future bout between her and Kayla Harrison. That interest all but vanished when Shields suffered a split-decision loss to Abigail Montes, whose record sits at 3 wins and 2 losses.

With Shields far from ready for better competition, even in the PFL, neither Amanda Nunes nor Kayla Harrison, both of whom are in their thirties, can afford to wait for Shields to continue improving her skill-set. The only superfight in women's MMA in the foreseeable future is Amanda Nunes vs. Kayla Harrison.

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Edited by kennedyking2016
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