Norma Dumont says the UFC has asked her to stay at 145 pounds to ensure they “wont close the division.”
Rumours have consistently swirled that the UFC will nix the women’s featherweight division, where opponents are ritually thrown into the den of champion Amanda “The Lioness” Nunes for slaughter.
The overwhelming dominance of Nunes, and the lack of talent to face her, have many believing it’s only a matter of time before the division is scrapped. But following Nunes’ latest title defence in March, Dana White affirmed the UFC’s commitment to the division, saying that “we have to keep finding people for (Nunes) to defend (against).”
And it seems that Dumont, who made the biggest statement of her career by defeating Felicia Spencer at UFC Vegas 27 last month, is one of those potential contenders.
Speaking to MMA Fighting, the 30-year-old Brazilian said that she planned to drop back down to 135 pounds until the UFC asked her to stay at featherweight to “shake things up.”
“The UFC requested that so they won’t close the division,” Dumont said (h/t Guilherme Cruz at MMA Fighting). “If I go down, [they will] probably close the division because there will be no one left as potential contenders for the belt. Based on our conversation [with the UFC], they will probably bring someone from 135 [to fight me].”
Dumont, who missed weight twice whilst fighting as a 135 pounder, says the imperative to keep the featherweight division alive isn’t the only motivation for staying.
“For me, staying at 145 would be way healthier,” she continued. “Having competition available at 145 would be way better for me because I wouldn’t have the stress of having to cut weight and live that strict life. I know I do a good job for this division not to die. It’s up to me, it’s up to Felicia and the girls in the division. There aren’t many, so it’s up to us doing a good job.”
Norma Dumont Wants Time To Prepare For Amanda Nunes
With Nunes looking unbeatable at featherweight, most notably in her recent first-round demolition of Meghan Anderson, Dumont says she’ll need a few fights before challenging for the title.
“I would like to have more fights before I face Amanda [Nunes, two-division UFC champion],” Dumont said, “but I believe I’ll probably fight Amanda with two more wins at 145 pounds. I won’t have the time I wanted to mature, so we will have to speed up the process and evolve.”
What do you think? Is there a future for the women’s featherweight division?