UFC 324’s Kayla Harrison does not like Ronda Rousey, claims manager

Is there some underlying bad blood between Kayla Harrison and Ronda Rousey?

Top MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz might be trying to stir the pot ahead of Harrison’s super fight against Amanda Nunes at UFC 324. Much has been made over possible MMA return of Rousey. Harrison weighed in on the discussion during an appearance on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” Harrison said she isn’t buying into the report that Rousey could be facing Katie Taylor in a boxing match in summer 2026.

Harrison has also reflected on her judo losses to Rousey when she was a teenager. Speaking to Mike Bohn of MMAJunkie, Abdelaziz said he believes Harrison has a legitimate issue with Rousey.

“There’s a lot of beef,” Abdelaziz said. “In the judo days, a lot of bad things happened between these two teams, and I think it’ll be one of the biggest – it’s not Amanda. I think Ronda Rousey-Kayla Harrison is one of the biggest fights in UFC history. It might do bigger numbers than Khabib (Nurmagomedov) and (Conor) McGregor because there’s a lot of nasty sh*t in the closet. I don’t think they like each other. I don’t think they respect each other. Kayla can say whatever she wants, but I know deep down inside she doesn’t like Ronda.”

Harrison has explained that when she did share the mat with Rousey all those years ago, she was going through dark circumstances. She was also less experienced than Rousey at the time.

At the moment, Harrison needs to focus on the aforementioned showdown with Nunes, who is coming out of retirement for UFC 324. Harrison has been the fresher fighter, as “The Lioness” has been out of action since 2023. Whether or not rust will become a factor in the fight remains to be seen.

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