Ex-Invicta FC champion and UFC featherweight title contender Megan Anderson doesn’t see Kayla Harrison replicating Amanda Nunes’ long reign in the UFC — not at bantamweight, at least.
The UFC has basically killed the 145-pound weight class following Nunes’ retirement, so Harrison, a two-time PFL lightweight champion, entered the promotion to compete at bantamweight. Harrison needed a pair of wins over Holly Holm and Ketlen Vieira to cement her position as the No. 1 contender for Julianna Peña, but Anderson wonders for how long will Harrison be able to make that weight.
“The caveat for me with Kayla is—and I said this when it was announced that she was going to drop to 135—just because you can make the weight, doesn’t always mean you should,” Anderson told MMA Fighting. “For women, these big weight cuts, hormonally, it’s not good. So even if she does go out there, she dominates Julianna, or it’s a back-and-forth battle and she ends up becoming the champion, I don’t see her fighting for too much longer. It’s the toll on the body, it’s the quality of life, you know?
“I know for a fact that that weight cut is miserable for her. ‘Cause I know that 145 was miserable for me. It was hard. the last 15 pounds was tough, the last five pounds was the worst. I know it’s miserable for her. She’s going to start preparing three months out for that weight cut because it’s so big for her. That is my biggest issue with Kayla. But she’s looked great so far, and I definitely think it’s going to come down to who wants it more. Because Julianna Peña, despite whatever bad position she gets put in, no matter how many times you hit her, no matter how many submission attempts she gets in, she will defend it. She will find a way to get out of it and she will try to turn the tide. That is championship mentality, and that is what has got her to this point so far.”
The UFC has yet to confirm that Harrison will be next for Peña and a date for the fight, but Anderson likes the matchup stylistically. Peña went 1-1 against Nunes between 2021 and 2022 and then stayed out for two years, only returning in October 2024 to defeat then-champion Raquel Pennington for the title.
“What I love about it is how I feel so many people count out Julianna Peña because she might not say a lot of the right things that get people on her side,” Anderson said. “But when you look at her, she might not have the best striking, but she’s a dog. She Is in it for the 25 minutes. She will not go away. I mean, look at that second Amanda Nunes fight. Amanda dropped her three times just in one round, she didn’t go away. Julianna is so hard to put away. Her jiu-jitsu was great, and that’s obviously Kayla’s world is, the judo and the grappling and then that top control.
“It could be they end up nullifying each other,” she continued. “I don’t see that. I see Kayla going out and being able to easily look for those takedowns. However, you look at her last fight, Ketlen Vieira had some success defending those takedowns. If you know what you’re looking for, it could be an easier time for Peña to kind of shut down that judo, but it’s going to come down to will.”
Anderson said she would pick Nunes to beat Harrison “every day” if the Brazilian returned to the sport to face her former teammate, but doubts “The Lioness” ends her retirement to compete at 135 pounds. For now, Anderson expects Harrison to claim UFC gold against Peña.
“I’m probably going to lean Kayla Harrison’s side just because I think she has the slightly better striking,” Anderson said. “I don’t think either of them are amazing on the feet. Obviously, they’re both still developing, but I think Kayla has the crisper of the two striking, and she blends that into her judo better. I think if she’s able to kind of utilize that, get on top, even if she’s not able to finish Peña, I think if she’s able to get on top, do some ground and pound, I think she can get the win.”
