Demetrious Johnson thinks Kayla Harrison would be better off retiring from MMA than fighting former champ-champ Amanda Nunes.
Harrison climbed to the top of the bantamweight mountain at UFC 316, submitting Julianna Pena to claim the undisputed 135-pound title. Immediately following the fight, the two-time Olympic gold medalist welcomed Nunes into the Octagon, setting the stage for a long-awaited clash between the former teammates.
Harrison vs. Nunes will undoubtedly be the biggest fight in women’s mixed martial arts history, but ‘Mighty Mouse’ thinks Harrison would be best served by preserving her legacy and avoiding a showdown with ‘The Lioness’ at all costs.
“If I was Kayla Harrison, I would retire from the sport,” Johnson said on his YouTube channel. “Don’t fight Amanda Nunes.”
DJ says Kayla Harrison’s resume doesn’t compare to the former UFC two-division titleholder
Stressing how impressive Nunes’ resume is compared to Harrison’s, Johnson believes the Brazilian bruiser will pose a lot of problems for the two-time PFL champ.
“Kayla Harrison is calling out Amanda Nunes. I think that’s a very, very bad idea,” Johnson said. “Yes, Kayla Harrison is a world champion, but when you look at the roster of what Amanda Nunes fought and what Kayla Harrison fought, there’s no f*cking comparison. There’s not one comparison at all. You had Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, Cat Zingano, (Germaine De Randamie), Valentina Shevchenko. Just the talent pool Amanda Nunes has fought in mixed martial arts, blows everything that Kayla Harrison has done in her entire career, just the talent pool.
“Amanda Nunes doesn’t need to come out of retirement. I think the only thing that’s enticing her to come out of retirement is probably how easy the fight might be. They trained together. … She’s got to get Amanda Nunes down. Amanda Nunes is not a very small girl. She’s very big. She’s very strong for her size. I think for Amanda Nunes if she comes back, she is putting her legacy on the line, but it’s not something that I’m jumping out of my seat to see. I’d rather see Amanda Nunes stay retired, and then maybe see Kayla Harrison fight one more time and then retire” (h/t MMA Junkie).
Johnson makes a valid point, but considering both Nunes and Harrison are primed to bank seven figures by fighting one another, it’s unlikely that either one will heed his warning.
