MMA
Kayla Harrison "will handle" Amanda Nunes, per BKB 58 former foe of Harrison who quips Nunes "can be broken and she can lose"
Published
2 months agoon

Kayla Harrison is the reigning UFC bantamweight champ but has a good chance of claiming a scalp that may vault her to GOAT status, according to a former opponent. The referenced combatant is Aspen Ladd, who fought the multi-time Olympic gold medalist in the PFL Smart Cage when Harrison mostly fought at lightweight and occasionally featherweight.
Aspen Ladd is now entering her sophomore bare-knuckle boxing bout as she makes her debut in the BKB Mighty Trigon this weekend. Ladd battles former BKB title challenger Bianca Daimoni at BKB 58 in Miami on August 29th. During a late-June interview on Bowks Talking Bouts, Cris Cyborg teased that we could perhaps see a Fall booking for the long-awaited Kayla Harrison taking on the iconic Amanda Nunes.
Offering up her thoughts on that generational title clash at 135 pounds, Ladd said [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],
“That one's a tough one only because if it was prime Amanda Nunes when she was hungry, she was champ. I think she would take it. But she's been out of it for a long time. She's made astronomical amounts of money. If she doesn't have that same fire, Kayla will handle her. We've seen that happen before with; it's been a very long time. She went on what the kids would call a generational run, right?â€
“But she can be broken and she can lose. If she's put into a bad position, we've seen her break. After so long, but also Kayla's coming back from a big surgery. So she needs to come back fully from that. So, it's hard. Prime Amanda Nunes, I'd say Amanda. Right now, I'd say Kayla.â€
 For Kayla Harrison “there's not a single woman in that division that will challenge herâ€, per Aspen Ladd
A headline from Sherdog circa May 2024 saw Ladd quip that nobody in the UFC's bantamweight division will beat Kayla Harrison. With it being over two years after this sentiment was mentioned, when asked again if she still feels that way about the decorated combat athlete's dominance among her peers at 135 pounds in the Ultimate Fighting Championship today, Ladd stated [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],
“They asked me that and I remember telling them that no, not a single one will be able to out grapple her. They'll give her Ketlen Vieira and Ketlen will be able to survive her, but she won't she won't come out with a win. No, there's not a single woman in that division that will challenge her right now.â€
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
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Alex Pereira says Josh Hokit would be much easier fight than Sergei Pavlovich
Published
17 hours agoon
October 25, 2026
Pereira has explained his frustration with the
Ultimate Fighting Championship's heavyweight matchmaking.
Pereira (13-4) is scheduled to face Sergei
Pavlovich (21-3) at UFC
335 on Dec. 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Meanwhile,
Josh
Hokit (10-0) will face Ciryl Gane
(14-2) for the heavyweight title at UFC
334 on Nov. 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Pereira said he initially expected either a rematch with Gane or a
grudge match against Hokit, but he sees the Pavlovich booking as a
favorable stylistic matchup.
Alex Pereira explains UFC matchmaking frustration and why
Sergei Pavlovich is more dangerous than Josh Hokit
Pereira lost his UFC heavyweight debut to Gane by technical
knockout in an interim title bout at
UFC Freedom 250. After Tom
Aspinall relinquished the undisputed championship, Pereira said
the promotion discussed a title rematch with Gane or a fight
against Hokit, who has repeatedly criticized “Poatan.â€
Pereira considers Hokit an easier opponent than Pavlovich.
Nevertheless, he said a conversation with UFC executive Hunter
Campbell resolved his frustration, and he now looks forward to the
December bout.
“What got me more upset at that time was because they told me that
I was possibly going to fight Gane for the belt or fight Hokit,â€
Pereira told Ariel Helwani. “And then none of that happened. Coming
from a loss, fighting Hokit would be much, much easier for me than
fighting Pavlovich, who’s supposed to be a harder fight. Hokit
would be a much easier fight for me. We got together [with Hunter
Campbell], we talked, we straightened things out, so it was fine.
Pavlovich is a little more dangerous opponent, but looking at it in
a technical way today, I see that it’s actually also a very good
fight for me.â€
Alex
Pereira reveals what upset him about the UFC’s decision not to
book him against Ciryl Gane
or Josh
Hokit: “What got me more upset at that time was because they
told me that I was possibly going to fight Gane for the belt or
fight Hokit. And then none of that happened. Coming from a loss,
fighting Hokit would be much, much easier for me than fighting
Pavlovich, who’s supposed to be a harder fight. Hokit would be a
much easier fight for me. We got together [with Hunter Campbell],
we talked, we straightened things out, so it was fine. Pavlovich is
a little more dangerous opponent, but looking at it in a technical
way today, I see that it’s actually also a very good fight for
me.â€â€” Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani)
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MMA
Islam Makhachev reveals why he turned down January fight with Carlos Prates
Published
18 hours agoon
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Islam Makhachev has spoken up about why he's not fighting Carlos Prates in January.
For the last few weeks, the MMA world has been flooded with rumors that Makhachev would defend his welterweight title against Prates at UFC 336 in January; however, on Saturday, the UFC announced that those rumors are untrue. Instead, Prates will take on Michael Morales for an interim welterweight title at UFC 336, with the winner unifying against Makhachev sometime next year.
“Prates and Morales will fight, determine who a true worthy contender, and I will fight [the winner]. They will [fight] among themselves. …
“They offered me a fight with Prates, who recently lost to a [Ian Machado Garry] who I beat. If I beat him, Morales would already be next in line, who's not fighting and waiting for [a title shot]. Just let them fight and we will figure out who is the real challenger.â€
Ramadan begins on Feb. 7 and concludes on March 8 in 2027, meaning it is unlikely we will see Makhachev again until next summer.
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