Norma Dumont has settled into life in Las Vegas and life in the featherweight division, and this weekend, the Brazilian talent has a chance to establish herself as the top contender in the 145-pound weight class as she takes on Aspen Ladd in the main event of Saturday’s fight card at the UFC APEX.
“First of all, the physical part has been a blessing to me,” Dumont began, explaining the benefits of relocating to the dessert and training at Syndicate MMA, where there are a host of established, talented female competitors for her to work with on a regular basis. “And the high-level wrestling I get to train here, which I do not have access to in Brazil — both of these parts of my training have really improved my game and have been a blessing to me.”
While settling into her new environs in Las Vegas has been a relatively smooth process, feeling comfortable competing at featherweight has taken a little more time and little more getting used to for Dumont.
A black belt in Sanda and a brown belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu, the 31-year-old made her UFC debut in February 2020, suffering a first-round knockout loss to Megan Anderson in a featherweight contest in Norfolk, Virginia. She looked out-sized against the towering Australian, who would fight for the title a year later in her next fight, and opted to move down to bantamweight for her next fight, only to miss the 136-pound limit by a considerable margin.
The fight proceeded as a catchweight engagement, with Dumont earning a unanimous decision win over Ashlee Evans-Smith, but when she again failed to make weight for a bout against short-notice replacement Erin Blanchfield in April, the UFC neophyte moved back up to featherweight. Six weeks later, Dumont filled in for Danyelle Wolff opposite former title challenger Felicia Spencer, turning in a quality effort against the game Canadian while landing on the happy side of a split decision verdict.
“It was a very good test with Felicia — she’s a top-ranked athlete — and it showed me that I could fight among the top athletes in the UFC too,” said Dumont, who pushed her record to 6-1 with her victory in May. “It gives me a lot of confidence and I feel comfortable at 145.
“A win over someone like Felicia makes me confident I can fight anybody in that weight division in the UFC.”
Initially slated to face former bantamweight champ and two-time featherweight title challenger Holly Holm in the co-main event of this weekend’s fight card, the pair was elevated to top spot on the marquee when Miesha Tate was forced out of her clash with Ketlen Vieira.