Kayla ⁠⁠Harrison defeats Amanda Nunes to retain UFC bantamweight belt

Harrison won the fight by a fourth-round submission against MMA legend Nunes, who made a comeback after a three-year absence.Kayla ⁠⁠Harrison has retained her Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight title with a fourth-round submission win over one of the mixed martial arts (MMA) all-time greats, Amanda Nunes, in the United States.The American fighter leveraged her tremendous grappling skills and thwarted ⁠⁠her opponent’s attempt to take the belt back in the main event of UFC 334 at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Saturday.A two-time Olympic judo champion, the 36-year-old Harrison was facing arguably the greatest female fighter of all time in Nunes, a dominant two-weight champion at bantamweight and featherweight before she stepped away from the sport in June 2023. But the Brazilian could not shake off the rust from her ⁠⁠⁠⁠long absence as she let the fight slip away ⁠⁠⁠⁠from her.Brazil’s Amanda Nunes arrives for the bout [Frank Franklin II/AP Photo]Nunes did well initially, looking crisp in her striking and avoiding some early takedown attempts, but she eventually succumbed to Harrison’s grappling attack, spending much of the latter part of the ⁠⁠opening two rounds on the bottom in a scarf-hold position from which she struggled to escape.Emboldened by her ⁠⁠success, Harrison displayed the full range of her judo ⁠⁠skills with perfectly timed trips and tosses and vice-like ground control. In the fourth round, she chased Nunes down to the mat, jumping on her back and quickly sinking in a rear-naked ‌‌choke that forced the 38-year-old to submit.“I think I’m still in shock,” said Harrison, who had surgery on herniated disks in her neck in January.“It ‌‌feels ‌‌surreal. Sometimes I can’t believe my life. I’m just really grateful, I’m humbled, it’s an honour and a privilege to stand before you,” she said, addressing her opponent.Harrison (20 wins, one defeat) admitted she was not sure what was next for her but took a moment to acknowledge the audience.“New York City, I love you,” she exclaimed after the fight.Nunes (23 wins, six defeats) took her gloves off but did not make herself available for a post-fight interview.Harrison leaves the octagon with her manager after defeating Nunes [Caleb Bowlin/Getty Images via AFP]Meanwhile, Ciryl Gane of France defeated American Josh Hokit by unanimous decision to retain ‌‌the heavyweight title after a bruising five-round battle fought at a frenetic pace.Gane successfully defended ‌‌his title for the first time, sweeping the scorecards 48-47, 48-47, 48-47 against Hokit.The first round saw Gane (15 wins, two defeats) get up quickly from an early takedown by Hokit (10 wins, one defeat), then land a few sharp jabs, uppercuts and an overhand right as he countered Hokit’s forward ⁠⁠pressure. Hokit did, however, close the round with a slam with about 30 seconds remaining.Hokit came back in the second round. After Gane stuffed an early single-leg attempt, Hokit pushed forward with determination, trading heavy right hands and clinching along the fence ⁠⁠in a very physical exchange.Hokit carried that momentum into the third round with a scramble takedown, then worked Gane over with several clinch elbows and foot stamps before flashing him the middle finger at the bell. As Hokit’s punches began to fade in the fourth round, Gane took control, countering the challenger’s fence clinches with several body kicks, knees to the midsection and short, dirty-boxing uppercuts.With the result still ‌‌in the balance in the fifth round, Gane stuffed Hokit’s takedown attempts and opened a cut just above his left eye, then dominated the striking with jabs, body shots and multi-punch combinations through the end of the round.Gane kept things simple after the fight, as did the typically brash Hokit.“It was an amazing fight,” Gane said.Hokit said he would enjoy the moment, even if he was on the receiving end.“Resilience builds character,” Hokit said.