Demetrious Johnson thinks Amanda Nunes is a bad matchup for new UFC bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison.
Harrison (19-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) claimed the bantamweight title by submitting Julianna Peña (12-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 316 co-main event. Immediately after her win, she welcomed Nunes into the octagon for a faceoff.
Johnson had an interesting take on what Harrison should do next.
“If I was Kayla Harrison, I would retire from the sport,” Johnson said on his YouTube channel. “Don’t fight Amanda Nunes.”
Johnson thinks former UFC dual-champion Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC) has the far better resume than Harrison, and will pose big problems for her.
“Kayla Harrison is calling out Amanda Nunes. I think that’s a very, very bad idea,” Johnson said. “Yes, Kayla Harrison is a world champion, but when you look at the roster of what Amanda Nunes fought and what Kayla Harrison fought, there’s no f*cking comparison. There’s not one comparison at all. You had Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, Cat Zingano, (Germaine De Randamie), Valentina Shevchenko. Just the talent pool Amanda Nunes has fought in mixed martial arts, blows everything that Kayla Harrison has done in her entire career, just the talent pool.
“Amanda Nunes doesn’t need to come out of retirement. I think the only thing that’s enticing her to come out of retirement is probably how easy the fight might be. They trained together. … She’s got to get Amanda Nunes down. Amanda Nunes is not a very small girl. She’s very big. She’s very strong for her size. I think for Amanda Nunes if she comes back, she is putting her legacy on the line, but it’s not something that I’m jumping out of my seat to see. I’d rather see Amanda Nunes stay retired, and then maybe see Kayla Harrison fight one more time and then retire.”
