UFC 324 was supposed to kick off 2026 with a double dose of star power\u2014not just a main event, but a co-main that felt just as significant. Kayla Harrison, defending her belt against a returning legend, Amanda Nunes, had everything: a new champion, an all-time great, and the constant tension of Harrison\u2019s brutal cut to bantamweight.<\/p>\n
Then the rug got pulled, as \u2018Doug\u2019 apparently suffered a neck injury that requires surgery, and UFC officials have officially declared the Nunes fight \u201cpostponed.\u201d The most anticipated storyline on the card was suddenly put on hold, and Sean O\u2019Malley vs. Song Yadong was promoted to co-main event status. However, there is a silver lining, as a boxing legend has just entered the conversation.<\/p>\n
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Amanda Serrano offers the UFC the boldest replacement idea possible<\/p>\n
The postponement left an unsettling void aroundAmanda Nunes<\/a>. Her return against Kayla Harrison was meant to be the emotional engine of UFC 324, but when it was canceled, fans wondered whether the UFC would keep \u2018The Lioness\u2019 on the date with someone else or arrange an alternative opponent for a later date.<\/p>\n That\u2019s when Amanda Serrano<\/a> jumped in with the kind of post that makes you reread it twice. \u201cIf UFC and Amanda Nunes are thinking of a replacement, I would love the challenge, as I\u2019m still in fight shape,\u201d Serrano wrote on X. Hope the champ recovers well.\u201d<\/p>\n On paper, it\u2019s an unusual request: one of boxing\u2019s greatest champions volunteering to fight the GOAT of women\u2019s MMA in the UFC on short notice. However, Serrano swiftly followed up to ensure that it didn\u2019t sound like arrogance. \u201cThis isn\u2019t to disrespect Amanda Nunes. I think she\u2019s the GOAT of MMA,\u201d she wrote, while still emphasizing what makes the idea interesting.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cI also know she has incredible hands & loves to use them,\u201d she wrote on X, suggesting that if there\u2019s one area where this crossover can feel competitive quickly, it\u2019s the striking exchanges. \u2018The Real Deal\u2019 also didn\u2019t present herself as someone who was playing pretend. The 37-year-old reminded everyone that she had previously competed in MMA and jiu-jitsu and continues to keep those tools alive.<\/p>\n The boxer, who is 2-0-1 in MMA, further revealed that she has been training regularly with her nephew Jovan, the captain of his varsity wrestling team, and that she enjoys kicking and has never stopped working on it. Still, it is less likely for the UFC to bring in a short-notice challenger from outside the roster for a legend\u2019s comeback, especially when the original plan is only delayed rather than scrapped.<\/p>\n With Kayla Harrison<\/a> set to be out for six months, the UFC has chosen to postpone the superfight and reschedule it later. However, it\u2019s interesting to see how the return of Amanda Nunes is attracting big names from other realms now, especially after Harrison and her manager constantly expressed doubt over her comeback.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Kayla Harrison\u2019s prediction about Amanda Nunes goes awkwardly wrong<\/p>\n The postponement comes with a cruel twist of irony. Amanda Nunes\u2019 comeback tale continues to gain attention, even pulling in bold callouts like Amanda Serrano\u2019s. However, it is worth noting that the loudest skepticism about \u2018The Lioness\u2019 ever making it to UFC 324 came from the same side that ended up forcing the delay.<\/p>\n \u2018Doug\u2019 openly questioned Amanda Nunes\u2019 ability to make 135 after such a long layoff. Speaking on The Ariel Helwani show, she cited previous pullouts and struggles as reasons she didn\u2019t completely trust the return timeline. She said, I\u2019m not convinced she makes 135 pounds. I\u2019m not worried, but I\u2019ve definitely (thought about it). We\u2019ve seen her pull out of main events before; we\u2019ve seen her have issues and struggles.\u201d<\/p>\n Ali Abdelaziz pushed it even further on Submission Radio. He stated bluntly, \u201cI don\u2019t know if Amanda will show up; that\u2019s why I was asking the UFC, \u2018Please have a backup.\u201d He characterized the entire comeback as being motivated by attention and ego, even stating Nunes didn\u2019t like seeing Kayla Harrison take over the spotlight that had previously belonged to her. And as things stand, the trash talk going wrong will be the least of their worries.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n According to Daniel Cormier, Harrison\u2019s injury could be more serious than we know. What does the UFC do with Amanda Nunes then? Cormier advocated for indefinite postponement<\/a> of this superfight, as opposed to a replacement opponent or even an interim title bout for Nunes. Amanda Serrano was not the only one who threw her hat in the ring. Norma Dumont had also reportedly offered to step in.<\/p>\n If Nunes takes a replacement bout and loses, Harrison loses her big legacy fight. But for the moment, she can rest easy knowing that the UFC is officially shelving the UFC 324 bout. We should get a better picture of the Nunes vs. Harrison bout in the coming days.<\/p>\n The post Boxing Champ Amanda Serrano Offers to Fight Nunes as Kayla Harrison Injury Postpones UFC 324 Co-Main<\/a> appeared first on EssentiallySports<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"UFC 324 was supposed to kick off 2026 with a double dose of star power\u2014not just a main…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":410426,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[447],"tags":[30297,11041,703,49,48,30298,82,640],"class_list":["post-410425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-amanda-nunes","tag-amanda-serrano","tag-boxing","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-kayla-harrison","tag-sports","tag-ufc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410425\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/410426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}