Kayla Harrison is preparing for the biggest fight of her career when she faces Amanda Nunes in the UFC 324 co-main event, and a huge part of the narrative surrounding the matchup centers around the fact that they were once teammates training under the same coaches at American Top Team.
While that makes for a good story and surely both athletes are going to answer an innumerable amount of questions about their past relationship, Harrison’s head coach, Mike Brown, who also coached Nunes when she was training out of the Florida-based gym, says it’s much ado about nothing. Truth be told, Brown says Harrison and Nunes really didn’t cross paths that much in the gym, and the time they did spend together was nothing but cordial.
“They didn’t train much together to be honest,” Brown told MMA Fighting. “I mean, they were always friendly with one another, got along well, it seemed to me.
“I think I probably cornered Amanda maybe six fights, seven fights, something like that. I helped her quite a bit. She was at ATT for many years, obviously, most of her UFC career. After she lost to Cat Zingano, she joined the team and then went on a monster run. I was there for a good chunk of it. I was never her head coach, but I was there. I was in her corner. I helped her for many, many fights. But she moved on. She went to another gym and doing her own thing.”
Nunes left American Top Team after losing her title to Julianna Pena back in 2021, and at the time, she noted that she always wanted to set up her own facility that focused on her training and preparation rather than sharing space with a much larger team. She was also able to reunite with a couple of past coaches who had previously worked with American Top Team but left the gym for one reason or another.
But after declaring plans to return from retirement and face Harrison in the UFC, Nunes suddenly stated that having the two-time Olympic gold medalist in the same gym directly impacted her decision to split with American Top Team.
“Yes, I did [leave because of Kayla Harrison],” Nunes said this past June after staring down Harrison following her title fight win. “Because when she got there, she started training with my coach, Mike Brown, Anderson [Franca], everybody, and I knew this fight would happen one day.
“If I was there now, that would be a problem. A huge problem for [American Top Team owner] Dan [Lambert]. She would have to move. Both training at the same gym, never would have happened.”
While he would never presume to speak for Nunes or her intentions when she left the gym, Brown always understood the split really boiled down to her loss and just seeking a change of scenery.
“I think Amanda left more because she had the loss with Pena, and she just wasn’t happy, and maybe she thought she needed changes, whatever it might be,” Brown said. “I don’t know all the details.
“I know her, but I’m not that close with her to know what she’s thinking. But she did what’s best for her. I don’t know all the details, to be honest.”
One thing that Nunes said that definitely rings true is avoiding teammates fighting each other, which would have been the case had she stayed at American Top Team. It’s the only gym that Harrison has ever called home, so there’s very little chance she was going to leave to avoid any opponent.
Nunes left before Harrison was even in the UFC, but now there’s no conflict whatsoever leading into arguably the most monumental fight in the history of women’s MMA.
“I don’t like teammates fighting one another, to be honest,” Brown said. “I think unless it’s for the No. 1 spot in the world, that’s different. There’s only one person who can be that guy. OK, then we have to make arrangements to make it happen. But just like a random fight to see who’s No. 10 or 13, I don’t like that idea. I’d rather see guys try to fight other fighters. I like the gym to be a place where you go, you try to always help the guy beside you to the best of your ability. We all want to grow together and make each other better.
“But if this guy could be the guy you might be fighting next, you don’t want to do that. I don’t like that atmosphere. For the No. 1 spot in the world, things change. If you’re No. 1 and 2, like in wrestling, if you’re No. 1 and 2 in the country and you’re on the same wrestling team, you’ve probably got to transfer. That’s how it goes, or you’re not going to start. That’s the situation we’re in.”
Make no mistake, Brown still has nothing but praise and admiration where Nunes is concerned, and there’s no leftover animosity just because she doesn’t train at American Top Team any longer.
That said, the former WEC champion turned coach admits it’s always special when you’re with an athlete from day one, helping them learn, evolve, and grow as a fighter. Brown appreciates that Harrison has been his fighter since before she threw her first punch, so watching her win at UFC 324 is going to be that much better.
“Kayla, since day one, since zero fights to where she is now, 100 percent with American Top Team,” Brown said. “Obviously, she has a lifetime of judo, that doesn’t hurt. It’s a major part of her success, obviously.
“But it is a little bit sweeter that she has developed all of her mixed martial arts skills right here in South Florida at the gym, which is pretty sweet.”
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