Kayla Harrison Beats Amanda Nunes, Judges' Scorecards, Prize Money, Stats & Highlights from UFC 334

Kayla Harrison cemented a signature win and held on to the women's bantamweight title with a fourth-round submission win over Amanda Nunes at UFC 334 from Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Harrison locked in a rear-naked choke on an exhausted Nunes after an impressive performance from the champion.

Both women were coming of long layoffs, but it didn't take them long to get back in the action. 

Harrison pressed the issue as the aggressor with her footwork. Nunes responded with timely counters that rocked her early. 

Then The Lioness made a mistake that cost her the second half of the round. She tried to take Harrison's back and ended up getting taken down and put in a crucifix. Harrison dominated the position the rest of the round and landed serious ground strikes. 

Nunes continued her questionable strategy of engaging Harrison in grappling in the second frame. Harrison once again got to the crucifix position and did damage. Plenty were baffled by Nunes' strategy. 

Meanwhile, Harrison continued to find herself in the better position:

The levy finally broke in the fourth round when Harrison knocked Nunes down and jumped on the rear-naked choke to draw the finish. 

According to ESPN's Fight Center, Harrison landed 160 total strikes before getting the submission.

Harrison has long been considered one of the top fighters in all of women's MMA. Now she has a win against an all-time great to prove it.

The 36-year-old's rise to prominence in the sport started with her Olympic Judo career where she was a two-time gold medalist. That obviously drew comparisons to Ronda Rousey.

As it turns out, Harrison has proven herself to have more longevity in MMA than the Rowdy one. Harrison started competing in PFL in 2018 and has risen to the ranks of champion in the UFC.

The biggest problem for her has been the cut to 135. She spent much of her PFL career at 155 and 145 pounds before having to cut down to bantamweight to compete in the UFC.

Now, Harrison is calling for the organization to bring back her home weight class for a rematch with Nunes.

"I feel like I am gonna prove I'm the champion on on Saturday night," Harrison said at the UFC 334 pre-fight press conference. "And then I'll give her an automatic rematch at 145 so I can snatch that other belt."

The UFC briefly made the 145-pound class a division when Cyborg and Nunes were competing regularly. However, it has been defunct since 2023.

Nunes was making her first appearance since successfully defending her bantamweight title against Irene Aldana in 2023.

We'll have to see if her return from retirement was a one-off venture because of Harrison or if she has the competitive fire to keep pursuing the belt after the loss.