Kayla Harrison secured the submission victory after trapping Amanda Nunes in a scarf-hold position across the opening rounds and dictating the pace with trips and heavy pressure. The bout concluded in the fourth round when Harrison brought Nunes to the canvas, gained her back, and locked in a rear-naked choke. On the same UFC 334 card, France's Ciryl Gane also retained his heavyweight championship through a five-round unanimous decision against Josh Hokit.
Key points
Kayla Harrison successfully relied on her elite judo grappling and ground control to thwa…: Kayla Harrison successfully relied on her elite judo grappling and ground control to thwart the veteran challenger.
The championship defense caps a successful recovery for Kayla Harrison following neck sur…: The championship defense caps a successful recovery for Kayla Harrison following neck surgery for herniated disks in January.
Amanda Nunes fell short in her effort to capture the bantamweight title during her high-p…: Amanda Nunes fell short in her effort to capture the bantamweight title during her high-profile return to competition.
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NEW YORK, Nov 15 : American Kayla Harrison leveraged her tremendous grappling skills to snatch a fourth-round submission win over Amanda Nunes on Saturday night as she retained her UFC bantamweight title, thwarting her opponent's attempt to take the belt back after more than three years out of the cage.
In the main event at UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden, Ciryl Gane of France defeated American Josh Hokit by unanimous decision to retain the heavyweight title after a bruising five-round battle fought at a frenetic pace.
A two-time Olympic judo champion, the 36-year-old Harrison was facing arguably the greatest female fighter of all time in Nunes, a dominant two-weight champion at bantamweight and featherweight before she stepped away from the sport in June 2023. But the Brazilian could not shake off the rust of her long absence as she let the fight slip away from her.
Nunes did well initially, looking crisp in her striking and avoiding some early takedown attempts, but she eventually succumbed to Harrison's grappling attack, spending much of the latter part of the opening two…
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