Kayla Harrison’s coach reveals expected date and location of Amanda Nunes clash in positive update

Kayla Harrison has been back in full training for several weeks following her spine injury.

The first numbered event of the year lost arguably its best fight when Harrison was forced out of the Amanda Nunes matchup.

She underwent emergency surgery for a cervical spine injury that has required a lot of patience during her recovery due to how serious it was.

Following Harrison’s manager saying she would fight before the end of the year, her coach has gone one step further than this by naming the specific event.

An injury to Tom Aspinall canceled his plans to return at UFC 334 and compete at Madison Square Garden for the second time in his career.

Amid talk of what will be next for the heavyweight division, it looks like the promotion may already have a different title fight lined up for this card on November 14.

It didn’t take long for Kayla Harrison to start training again after her injury, but her team have had to be very careful about taking the right steps during her recovery.

Anderson Franca is a Muay Thai coach at American Top Team, the gym where the current champion trains and which also used to be the home of Amanda Nunes.

He recently revealed that the past few weeks have seen Harrison start to ramp things up ahead of a potential bout in New York.

“Her injury was very serious. She had to undergo surgery and spent several months unable to train, but she made a great recovery and, three weeks ago, returned to full training for the fight, which is expected to take place Nov. 14 in New York,” Franca told Sherdog.

A huge part of the narrative heading into the previously scheduled matchup between Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes was their past.

The two women briefly trained together at American Top Team, with Jorge Masvidal describing their sparring as PPV-calibre.

Due to this history, many of the coaches who now surround Harrison are very familiar with the woman that she will defend her title against next.

Anderson Franca is one of those people, having been a big part of Nunes’ preparations for the fight that saw her become a simultaneous two-division champion in 2018.

“Amanda was considered the underdog against [Cris] Cyborg, and we trained a lot for that fight,” he said. “I would say that victory was the second-biggest professional thrill of my career, after Edson Barboza’s retirement. But we are professionals. Now I’ll be on the other side, God willing, helping Kayla beat her.”