Amanda Nunes: "Women's MMA is just so far behind"- Demetrious Johnson gives his blunt take on Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes fight placement on UFC 324 card

Demetrious Johnson recently weighed in on the UFC 324 lineup and the placement of the fight between Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes on the card.

Johnson pushed back on veteran MMA journalist Ariel Helwani’s argument that Harrison vs. Nunes should headline over Justin Gaethje vs. Paddy Pimblett. He believes the lightweight fight offered a livelier main event and said Nunes had already earned the right to step away from the sport.

'Mighty Mouse' also believes the women’s bantamweight division has not produced enough fresh contenders and has to lean on a retired champion for a fresh matchup. He pointed to names like Raquel Pennington and Julianna Pena, who have already faced Nunes, and wondered why rising contenders such as Norma Dumont or Ketlen Vieira were not considered.

In a recent episode of MIGHTYcast, Johnson said:

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“I think, honestly, in my opinion, I like that Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett is the main event. One, I don’t like Amanda Nunes coming out of retirement for this fight. I like somebody who’s done what she’s done in the sport of mixed martial arts. I like to let our legends sleep. Let them ride off into paradise. Are you telling me there’s not another person in the division that can’t fight Kayla Harrison? Let me look at that division. I just feel like women’s MMA is just so far behind. I might get a lot of sh*t for this, but I just feel like the talent pool is so far behind."

He added:

"When I look at it, you got Julianna Pena, she’s beat her. Raquel Pennington, she’s beat her. Why not do Norma Dumont? Why not do Ketlen Vieira? Why not do Yana Santos? Why not do Irene Aldana? You have to pull a legend out of retirement for this fight. I don’t like that. For me, Paddy Pimblett vs. Justin Gaethje, I think that fight’s way more exciting than Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes."

Check out Demetrious Johnson's comments below (59:00):

Kayla Harrison talks about fighting in the co-main event slot against Amanda Nunes at UFC 324

Kayla Harrison recently reacted to the debate around UFC 324’s bout order. She acknowledged the frustration many fans felt about seeing an undisputed title placed beneath an interim lightweight matchup.

Ariel Helwani pointed it out during a conversation with her. Harrison responded by saying that the belt should mean something in moments like these:

"It's not about me, and it's not about Amanda [Nunes]. I think it's about the belt. That should mean something. I agree that these things matter. Does it matter to me? Not in the way that it matters to you... For me, I have been patiently waiting for a date to confirm that this fight is going to happen. The bout order is irrelevant to me. I'm just being honest. I make jokes all the time where I'm like, I would fight on the prelims just because it's more conducive to the time I go to bed."