Story byKayla Harrison (left) has been ruled out of her bout with Amanda Nunes (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)Will CastleThu, January 15, 2026 at 11:41 AM UTC·2 min readKayla Harrison is out of her mammoth women’s bantamweight title defence against the returning Amanda Nunes in a huge blow to UFC 324, just nine days out from the event. Harrison, 35, was due to put her title on the line for the first time since dethroning Julianna Pena, welcoming former two-division champion Nunes back from retirement in one of the biggest matchups in women’s mixed martial arts history. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHowever, the Olympic gold medallist reportedly required surgery this week to repair herniated discs in her neck, ruling her out of the bout as she begins her recovery. The match has been “postponed to a later date” by the UFC rather than rebooked with another opponent for Nunes, who will now have to wait to for her first fight since 2023. The UFC confirmed that former bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley’s bout will move into the co-main event slot, with “Suga” squaring off against top contender Song Yadong. The timescale of Harrison’s injury or projected return has not been confirmed, with UFC legend and commentator Daniel Cormier left to ponder over the future of the women’s bantamweight division. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCormier told The Ariel Helwani Show: “Is Kayla gone for six months? Because if she’s only out for six months, you can’t say this an interim title fight because hey, Amanda Nunes vs.