Just as she dominated the Olympics en route to two gold medals, Kayla Harrison has long wanted to be considered the absolute best in the world when it comes to her fighting career.

Harrison doesn’t just want to win championships, she wants to retire as the greatest fighter in the history of the sport, and she knows there are many obstacles to overcome before she can earn that distinction. Perhaps the quickest path to her goal would be winning a UFC title and then welcoming former champion Amanda Nunes back to competition after “The Lioness” teased a possible return from retirement. Nunes called it a career in 2023 and retired with the UFC bantamweight and featherweight titles still on her shoulders.

Although they were once teammates under the same coaches at American Top Team in Florida, Harrison knows beating Nunes would add tremendous honor to her record and it’s a challenge she welcomes.

“Selfishly, I hope she comes back,” Harrison told MMA Fighting. “I have no problem with Amanda other than she is trying to throw America’s top team under the bus. Don’t argue with my friends.

“But listen, if she’s happy and living her dream, that’s great, but selfish. I’d like her to come back so I can put all the noise to rest.”

In her last two fights in the UFC, Nunes avenged a past loss to Julianna Peña to regain her bantamweight title and then ran roughshod over Irene Aldana in what ended up being Nunes’ final appearance with the promotion.

Peña’s rematch came seven months after Nunes suffered a shocking loss to the ‘Venezuelan Vixen’. Nunes gave up her UFC title after being submitted via rear choke in the second round. That was the first time in six years that Nunes faced defeat. Things went very differently in the second fight, with Nunes brutally punishing Peña for five rounds before winning a lopsided decision, with a judge giving Nunes a scorecard of 50-43.

In the long run, Harrison hopes she gets a chance to beat them both, but she acknowledges that as much as Peña deserves credit for her win, she still views Nunes as the better fighter and the bigger addition to her resume.

“I will never take that win away from Julianna,” Harrison said. ‘It was her night. Kudos to her. Lightning rarely strikes the same place twice. I think Amanda is the better fighter and who knows what happened. I’m excited to see how Julianna looks in this fight (against Raquel Pennington) – if she makes the fight.

While Harrison has lofty plans for her future, none of that will happen if she makes a mistake in her next fight against Ketlen Vieira at UFC 307. That’s why every conversation about the title, Nunes or anyone else ends with Harrison once again raises the issue of Vieira. name as the only one that matters right now.

“We’ll see what happens,” Harrison said. “I’m focused on Ketlen Vieira, October 5, UFC 307, 135 pounds, one step closer to the goal.

“Step by step. First Ketlen, then the title and then Amanda if she wants it.’