{"id":414465,"date":"2026-01-15T10:57:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T10:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/414465\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T10:57:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T10:57:09","slug":"amanda-serrano-offers-to-replace-injured-kayla-harrison-for-ufc-bout-vs-amanda-nunes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/414465\/","title":{"rendered":"Amanda Serrano offers to replace injured Kayla Harrison for UFC bout vs. Amanda Nunes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amanda Serrano\u2019s<\/a> badassery knows no bounds. <\/p>\n

Ten days after defending her featherweight crown, Serrano on Wednesday offered to step in to face former two-division UFC champion Amanda Nunes next week once it was revealed that Nunes\u2019 original opponent, UFC 135-pound champion Kayla Harrison, was forced to pull out of the fight after undergoing neck surgery. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf UFC and Amanda Nunes are thinking of a replacement, I would love the challenge as I\u2019m still in fight shape,\u201d Serrano said on social media. \u201cHope the champ (Harrison) recovers well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Usually, it’s MMA fighters who are the ones looking to crossover into boxing, but \u201cThe Real Deal\u201d Serrano has a history of competing in mixed martial arts. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Serrano is 2-0-1 in MMA, with both wins coming by way of submission; she fought twice in MMA in 2018 and once in 2021. Serrano, a surefire future Hall of Fame boxer, sports a 48-4-1 record in the ring with 31 knockouts and titles across seven divisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t to disrespect Amanda Nunes,\u201d said Serrano. \u201cI think she\u2019s the greatest of all time in MMA. I also know she has incredible hands and loves to use them. I\u2019ve competed in both MMA and jiu-jitsu. Anyone that has ever done MMA and BJJ has always dreamt of competing in the biggest stages and UFC. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy nephew Jovan is the captain of his varsity wrestling team, and I train with him a few times a week just to give him extra work. I love kicking, so I never stopped training that either. Much respect to and for \u2018The Lioness\u2019 Nunes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most Valuable Promotions CEO Nakisa Bidarian, who promotes Serrano and is also a former UFC executive, said: \u201cAmanda Serrano is one-of-one. She has confirmed with me she would 100 percent step in.\u201d <\/p>\n

Harrison vs. Nunes was supposed to take place on January 24 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas as the co-main event of UFC\u2019s debut show on Paramount+. <\/p>\n

A replacement opponent hasn\u2019t been announced yet, but if Serrano gets the call, she\u2019d be the most significant boxer to crossover into the UFC since James Toney fought Randy Couture in 2010 and lost in the first round by an arm triangle choke. <\/p>\n

The knockout artist Nunes (23-5, 13 KOs, 4 submissions MMA) holds wins against the likes of Ronda Rousey, Cris Cyborg, Miesha Tate, Holly Holm, and Valentina Shevchenko (twice). Nunes retired in 2023 following a decorated career, but is ready to give it another go at 37.<\/p>\n

Serrano is The Ring\u2019s No. 5-rated pound-for-pound fighter and is coming off a unanimous decision win and defense of her featherweight title against Reina Tellez on January 3 in Puerto Rico. <\/p>\n

The 37-year-old Serrano\u2019s profile has skyrocketed in recent years due to her scintillating rivalry and trilogy with Katie Taylor, and by partnering with Jake Paul and fighting on Netflix events that have generated massive viewership numbers. <\/p>\n

Manouk Akopyan is The Ring\u2019s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Amanda Serrano\u2019s badassery knows no bounds. Ten days after defending her featherweight crown, Serrano on Wednesday offered to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":414466,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,802,2989,2983,2831,2988,2981,2984,2985,2986,2987,2982,1920,2993,2992,1913,2976,2977,786,2990,2978,785,2975,2994,2772,85,2991,2974,2980,2979],"class_list":["post-414465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-boxing","tag-boxing-community","tag-boxing-fights","tag-boxing-history","tag-boxing-interviews","tag-boxing-magazine","tag-boxing-photos","tag-boxing-rankings","tag-boxing-results","tag-boxing-schedule","tag-boxing-videos","tag-boxing-news","tag-disqualification","tag-draw","tag-fight","tag-fighter","tag-fighter-news","tag-fighting","tag-knockout","tag-latest-boxing-matches","tag-mma","tag-ring","tag-ring-magazine","tag-split-decision","tag-sports","tag-technical-knockout","tag-the-ring","tag-top-fighters","tag-upcoming-boxing-matches"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=414465"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414465\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/414466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=414465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=414465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=414465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}