Kayla Harrison defended her women’s bantamweight title with a fourth-round submission win against the returning Amanda Nunes at UFC 334.Although Nunes showed signs of her former self on the feet, most of the co-main event was spent on the canvas, putting Harrison, a two-time Olympic gold medallist in judo, right in her element.Two-time Olympic gold medallist Harrison had Nunes pinned to the canvas for large parts of rounds one and twoGettyNunes showed signs of encouragement on the feet, but couldn’t match the champion on the canvasGettyHarrison proved throughout the fight she was simply too good for Nunes in the clinch and on the ground.In round four, the champion managed to take Nunes’ back, lock in a rear-naked choke, and the challenger tapped instantly.Nunes, one of just four simultaneous two-division UFC champions in the promotion’s history, returned to MMA on the card at New York’s famous Madison Square Garden after more than three years out.It had been 1,253 days since Nunes defended the women’s bantamweight title against Irene Aldana at UFC 289, which also marked the last time the belt was retained in a UFC bout.View Tweet: https://x.com/hashtag/UFC334?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwThe pair were originally scheduled to fight at UFC 324 in January, but Harrison withdrew on short notice to undergo neck surgery.Their eventual meeting at UFC 334 was billed as one of the greatest women’s MMA fights of all time.Harrison reacts to UFC 334 win over Nunes“It feels surreal; sometimes I can’t believe my life,” Harrison told Joe Rogan after her win.“I was sexually abused at a young age, and statistically I’m not supposed to be here.“So to go from that. If you’d told me at six or 16 years old this would be my life, I wouldn’t believe you.“I’m just really grateful, humble, and it’s an honour and privilege to stand here before you.”Harrison impressed in her title win at UFC 334, albeit against what was seemingly a very different version of NunesGettyHarrison said she had some big decisions to make regarding her future when she returned home, having constantly struggled to make weight in her UFC journey.UFC 334 co-main event: What happened?Nunes looked like she’d had no time out whatsoever as she cracked the champion early in round one.‘The Lioness’ continued to land hard on the feet, forcing Harrison to shoot desperately to drag Nunes to the canvas.However, with momentum swinging in her favour and Harrison’s takedowns defended well, Nunes found herself in trouble at the end of the round.As a similar pattern developed in the second, Nunes, to her mistake, seemed like she was comfortable with having it out with Harrison on the canvas.It wasn’t long before the champion secured another takedown in round two, leaving Nunes almost helpless on the canvas.Harrison continued to dominate Nunes on the canvas for most of the fightGettyNunes did manage to clock up some control time in round three, but Harrison found it easy to reverse the position.Harrison soon cut Nunes above the right eye with huge strikes from top position.The pair clinched up again in round four, and it didn’t take much for Harrison to get Nunes into a position to lock in the rear-naked choke.UFC 334 was headlined by a heavyweight title bout between Ciryl Gane and Josh Hokit.Elsewhere on the card, Stephen Thompson scored a sensational spinning wheel kick KO to bow out of the sport in the most spectacular fashion.That came before Luis Gurule pulled off a massive upset win over Bilal Hasan on the main card, and Uros Medic contested a majority draw with Kevin Holland.UFC ScheduleThere are still several blockbuster shows and exciting contests for fight fans to look forward to in 2026, and you can find the full list of all confirmed events and official bouts as part of talkSPORT.com’s UFC schedule.The UFC, on average, puts on 13 to 14 premium events in a calendar year, with up to 30 smaller ‘Fight Night’ cards allowing prospects and less experienced fighters to showcase their talents.On January 1, 2026, Dana White’s promotion signed a seven-year broadcast deal with CBS and Paramount+ for exclusive rights in the US, meaning the UFC has put on shows like never before this year.With the historic first event in the new Paramount era, UFC 324, delivering huge success, and a one-of-a-kind fight card at the White House in June opening up the UFC to a new audience, the promotion remains a premium global sports brand, and fans are eager to keep track of results and upcoming fights.