Amanda Nunes says her UFC 334 return is not a one-off

Amanda Nunes is not coming back for just one night.

The former two-division UFC champion returns on Nov. 14 at Madison Square Garden to challenge bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison, her former training partner, in the co-main event of UFC 334. It will be her first fight since she retired in June 2023.

Nunes says the comeback is not only about Harrison. She would have returned no matter who held the belt.

'I was so burned out'

"I would have come back anyways," Nunes said. "I think I did the break in the right time because I know I enjoy more to be there. It's always more fun to walk in."

She said the time away was something she needed. "I was like so burned out. And I kind of needed the break," she said. "A lot of people say like, 'Oh, you shouldn't retire. You shouldn't take the break.'"

Planning to defend the belt

Asked whether she would retire again after UFC 334, Nunes made her plans clear.

"You've got to defend the belt," she said. "You gotta defend the belt, for sure. And then we're going to see."

Nunes, widely seen as the greatest female fighter in UFC history, has beaten every woman to hold the bantamweight title except Harrison. A win would make her a three-time bantamweight champion.