The more things change, the more they stay the same. Amanda Nunes insists she's not returning to the UFC for one last payday or to relive her glory days. The greatest women's fighter in MMA history wants to pick up right where she left off at UFC 334, taking back the title she never lost and sticking around after.

Nunes challenges women's bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison at UFC 334 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It's been three years since Nunes last stepped into the Octagon, retiring at the top of her game as a double champion. She's since watched Harrison emerge as the division's dominant force, setting up a long-awaited showdown between former teammates. 

Harrison hinted that Saturday's fight could be her last, pointing to Janury's career-threatening neck surgery and demanding weight cuts. Nunes, 38, believes she has plenty to offer despite being the older fighter coming off a three-year retirement.

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"I'm here to stay. I'm a fighter, man. This is a huge difference between me and Kayla. She's an athlete. I'm a fighter," Nunes told CBS Sports' Brian Campbell. "I'm here to get the belt and fight until my body tells me to stop again. So I'm a fighter. I'm the UFC champion. You're not here with the challenger. You don't talk to the challenger. You talk to a double champion. I know everything that Kayla's going through right now because, for so long, I did this in two divisions. I know everything that she's going through right now. Every single thought, every single mindset, everything."

Nunes knows what it takes to be a champion more than most. She spent years ruling the UFC women's bantamweight and featherweight divisions, defeating fellow greats like Ronda Rousey, Cris Cyborg, Valentina Shevchenko (twice) and Holly Holm. By the time she retired in 2023, there was virtually nothing left for her to accomplish. Harrison's arrival in the UFC gave Nunes a convincing reason to comeback.

Her return required patience. Nunes and Harrison were originally scheduled to fight in January before the matchup was pushed back to November. The delay disrupted Nunes' plans, but she sees the upside in having more time to prepare for her first fight in three years.

"Honestly, I keep everything in a positive way," Nunes said. "So I always wait for a little while, and that extra time gives me extra training. So I enjoy a lot being able to add more things and fixing more things. I obviously was a little upset because I always have a plan after fights. I want to go to Brazil. I want to see my family. But when I got home, I was like, 'all right, this is not that bad.'"

Nunes' return is a sigh of relief for women's MMA. The sport's biggest stars have gradually stepped away, and the bantamweight division has struggled to produce new attractions of comparable stature. Harrison, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo, is among the exceptions. Nunes believes their fight can restore some of the interest that surrounded women's MMA during her championship reigns.

"This is what women's MMA needs right now," Nunes said. "I feel like it slowed down a little bit, and I'm coming back to make this hype again. I feel like the 135 division needed me. I came back, and I did it for that, and I did it for myself. I was missing this so much. I can't even explain in words how I missed fighting. 

"When I saw that Kayla signed with UFC back then, I told everybody she had a chance to get his belt, and that would be perfect. So I'm coming back to get the belt from her. So now we are here to fight in amazing New York. It's all full cycle in my life."

New York is an especially fitting setting for Nunes' revival. Nunes originally arrived in the United States from Brazil with little money and enormous ambitions. Her first stop was New York, where she slept on a gym floor while trying to establish herself as a professional fighter.

"I was 20 years old when I came to USA, and the first place was here in New York. [I had] $20 in my pocket, and I was sleeping at the gym in Patterson," Nunes said. "When I came here, I dreamed of everything. 'Maybe one day.' I put it out there that maybe I'm going to have my pictures all over, and maybe fighting one day. That would be great. Now I'm 38 years old."

Nune risks a small blow to her legacy against a younger champion who has spent the last three years competing while Nunes enjoyed retirement. Some 41 months have passed between Nunes' last fight and her next. Legitimate questions remain about whether the former champion can regain her old form, particularly against a physically imposing grappler like Harrison. Nunes, however, is pleasantly surprised by how naturally she settled back into training.

"I feel like 20, honestly. I feel so good. I didn't expect to feel like that," Nunes said. "So everything is coming together perfect. The training. Everything [feels] like I never left this game. It is unbelievable."

For all her accomplishments, Nunes enters Saturday's fight as a betting underdog. It's a position she's rarely experienced over the last decade. The last time oddsmakers picked against her was before she knocked out Cyborg in 51 seconds. It's a reasonable reflection of the circumstances. Harrison has been active, while Nunes is attempting a comeback at an age when most fighters are well into their decline.

Nunes isn't bothered by it. She spent the early years of her career proving people wrong and sees another opportunity to do so against Harrison. That chip on her shoulder is particularly visible from the opposite corner. Nunes' former coaches at American Top Team will be in Harrison's corner on Saturday. Nunes relishes the opportunity to best the team she believes didn't have her best interests in mind.

"Honestly, like this is like my entire life," Nunes said. "I have always been the underdog. So I take that as a motivator, you know, positive. I like to be the underdog. I don't have any problem with that. I'm ready for anything that Kayla shows up on Saturday, and I'm not dying in my mind. I'm going to walk away with my belt, and I'm going to defend my belt."