Norma Dumont from São Paulo is eager for a fight that will lead her to a UFC bantamweight title opportunity. However, she is disappointed by the recent challenges in finding an opponent. After winning five consecutive fights in the octagon, including victories over Germaine de Randamie and Irene Aldana in 2024, Dumont tells MMA Fighting she is unsure who her next opponent could be.
“It’s very frustrating because my focus is on winning the belt. That’s my ultimate goal,” Dumont stated. “Everything I do is aimed at getting a title shot, and it’s frustrating to have no options available right now.”
With Julianna Peña set to defend her title against Kayla Harrison on June 7 in Newark, Dumont had hoped for a No. 1 contender fight against Raquel Pennington. However, she was informed that Pennington is injured and has no set return date. Macy Chiasson and Ketlen Vieira are scheduled to fight on May 31, leaving Dumont without a top 5 opponent.
Dumont acknowledged that fighting someone ranked lower to stay active is an option, but it wouldn`t advance her towards a title shot. “My goal is one more fight and then a title shot, and fighting lower-ranked opponents won’t get me there. I need a fight that puts me in line for the title,” she explained.
When asked about the difficulty in securing fights, Dumont believes she isn’t the preferred choice for opponents. “Maybe it’s my fighting style, or because I’m versatile and bigger for this weight class. I think it might be strategic. It might be easier to plan a victory against other fighters. We joke about it being fear, but I think it`s strategy. I’m a black belt in both ground fighting and striking. I’m a strong, big athlete with good cardio, making me a tough fight for these women.”
Dumont insists she doesn`t want to wait a year for a fight and expects the UFC to finalize a date and opponent this month. Having recently joined Chute Boxe Diego Lima in São Paulo after her victory over Aldana in September, she has offered to be a backup fighter for the Peña vs. Harrison match at UFC 316. Ideally, she would like to have her own fight on the same card.
“We considered the idea of having Pennington and myself on the same card as the Kayla and Julianna fight, so I could step in if anything happened and the main event fell apart,” Dumont said. “But Pennington’s injury disrupted everyone’s plans, not just mine but the UFC’s as well. They had plans in place, and now they are adjusting the remaining pieces. It’s become more complicated.”
Dumont hopes that her UFC record so far will warrant a title shot after just one more win, regardless of her next opponent. However, the potential return of legendary two-division champion Amanda Nunes could complicate things.
“I think Kayla will defeat Julianna, and Amanda might return,” Dumont speculated. “Perhaps not for a full comeback, but specifically to fight Kayla. I think she might return just for that fight and then retire again. That would be bad for me because it would slow down the division, but it’s a real possibility.”
Dumont believes that if Nunes’s return is contingent on Harrison holding the belt Nunes once held, it is likely to happen. However, she is not underestimating Peña at UFC 316.
“Julianna is too small for the division, and her style is based on grappling and takedowns,” Dumont assessed. “Kayla is much bigger and more experienced in that area. However, Kayla’s cardio is a weakness. She doesn’t have the endurance for three rounds. She pushes hard in the first, less in the second, and even less in the third. Her cardio is limited.”
“If Harrison applies pressure in the first two rounds, she could win by ground and pound or submission. I think it’s possible that Julianna won’t be able to handle Kayla’s size. But if the fight goes beyond the third round, Julianna can be problematic because she is resilient and has great cardio, despite being lighter. Even in the fights where Amanda Nunes dominated her, Amanda still ended up with cuts on her face. If Kayla is smart, she will apply pressure early in the fight.”
