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Norma Dumont | Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
Former Featherweight Contender Norma Dumont Is Back At Bantamweight And Making Waves at 135 pounds. Now She’s Targeting The Division’s Elite Ahead Of Riyadh Season Noche UFC
Norma Dumont was well on the way towards a shot at UFC gold at 145 pounds, but a change in weight class now has her plotting a different path to championship glory.
The Brazilian is all set to step into Sphere in Las Vegas to take on Mexico’s Irene Aldana at Riyadh Season Noche UFC as she looks to gate crash the upper echelon of the women’s bantamweight division.
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UFC 306 is an event that has everyone excited for what should be a memorable occasion, and as one of the fighters on the card, Dumont is no exception.
“Man, I was really happy,” she told UFC.com during ahead of fight night in Las Vegas.
“I already wanted to fight Irene, because I think that she's an amazing athlete. When I found out that it was going to be in an event of this caliber, this magnitude, I just felt really happy, because it's a great opportunity to show my work.”
Dumont fought the majority of her UFC career thus far at featherweight but made the drop back down to 135 pounds early this year, and outpointed former UFC featherweight champ Germaine de Randamie. It was a victory that extended her active win streak to four and gave her added confidence that the drop down in weight could result in legitimate success against elite opposition.
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“Obviously, (I was) very happy about the win,” she said.
“As much as it will be when I beat Irene, it was the most important victory in my career, and (a win over Aldana) will be the most important win in my career.
"It gives me confidence more than anything else going forward, because you're talking about somebody only Amanda (Nunes) was able to beat in this organization, so I was able to do that.
“And also it gives me confidence that I can do a game that's not mine, that I can actually do someone else's and fight them at their own game.
“It gives me the confidence that I can work in every style. If it's going to be 100 percent striking, if it’s going to be 100 percent grappling, I can handle it. So, more than anything else, (it gives me) confidence going forward for other fights.”
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Now 13 fights into her professional career, with nine UFC fights to her name, Dumont said that the fighter that’s looking to make a splash at 135 pounds in 2024 is a vastly superior fighter to the one that last competed in the weight class back in 2020.
“(I’m) a stronger, faster, more complete athlete,” she stated.
“And there's also the matter of strength because, the way I saw it, I was not the strongest athlete, and I could feel other athletes’ strengths. But now I feel stronger than other athletes. I feel great and feel very strong.”
Dumont will look to make that evolved skillset and improved strength at the weight pay off when she faces Aldana on Saturday night. Dumont knows that she’s facing a fighter who won’t go away easily, and she said that she’s ready to walk through the fire to get the victory.
“We’re talking about a tough athlete, a durable fighter, someone that you know is there to inflict damage,” she said.
“It's going to be a fight of damage – you're going into the fight knowing there will be damage to it, and you have that mindset going in. But I do believe there are some holes in her game, and I can exploit them.”
With Dumont listed eighth and Aldana fifth in the UFC’s official bantamweight rankings, victory for either fighter could position them for a run at the title. And with the division looking wide open heading into the last quarter of the year, Dumont said that she’s ready to take advantage and put herself in the frame with two big wins, starting on Saturday night.
“I know the division right now looks a little messy up there, but I do feel that I would face the loser of the title fight between Raquel Pennington and Julianna Pena,” she stated.
“Because we know that things are going to get cleared up in October, right? So we have Ketlen (Vieira) against Kayla (Harrison), and (the winner of) this one would probably get the shot at the title.
"So I figure that I will get the loser of that title fight, and then the next up, this will be a title fight of my own, and my shot at the title.”
To set that course of events into motion, Dumont will have to deliver a big performance at Sphere and defeat Aldana. And, when asked how she plans to get things done on Saturday night, she kept things under her hat, but hinted at an exciting clash.
“Without revealing secrets, without revealing the masterplan for the fight, I think I beat Irene with high Fight IQ, and a lot of firepower.”
UFC 306: O'Malley vs Dvalishvili took place live from Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 14, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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