Harrison still champ. Zero defenses. No date.

Kayla Harrison is the UFC women’s bantamweight champion — and she has not defended the belt once.

She won the title with a Round 2 kimura of Julianna Peña at UFC 316 on June 7, 2025. Neck surgery pulled her off the timeline. A planned first defense against Amanda Nunes aimed at UFC 324 in January collapsed; rebook talk for UFC 331 also fell apart. In August, manager Ali Abdelaziz said Harrison wants a fight before the end of 2026. That is a manager window, not a fight on an event page. No title bout is booked.

The boards disagree on who’s next. Julianna Peña and Raquel Pennington still rate high on some lists; Joselyne Edwards and Norma Dumont are the form case on others — Edwards’ five-fight streak includes a unanimous decision over Dumont in April. Amanda Nunes is the returnee claim everyone writes about, but she is unranked and undated: she refused an interim when it was floated in coverage and wants the real belt against Harrison. Camp talk and prior card history — not official.

September 26 Fight Night: Norma Dumont vs. Ailin Perez — ranked ladder. The winner stays in the conversation when Harrison’s return clarifies. October 17 in Edmonton carries Croden–Chandler depth. Nothing on those cards is a title eliminator announced as such.

Harrison is champ with zero defenses and no printed return date. Nunes is the preferred first defense in the narrative and not on a poster. Interim talk circulated and was not adopted after Nunes refused. Until the UFC puts a name and a date under Harrison, women’s bantamweight is champion-present and schedule-empty at the top.