Las Vegas — Bantamweight contender and former featherweight Norma Dumont knew what she was signing up for at UFC 306 this past weekend.
Brazil’s Dumont found herself in a bloody battle with a game Irene Aldana, a Mexican who very much embodied her country’s fighting spirit when when refused to stop walking forward despite a nasty gash that had opened up on her forehead.
“I knew it was going to be that kind of match-up. That’s why I called her [out],” Dumont (12-2), now sitting on a five-fight win streak, said following the fight. “Actually I called Germaine [de Randamie] first, because I was also expecting that kind of aggressiveness, I knew there was some kind of war. But I ended up calling out Irene, I’m happy I got the match-up. I knew it was going to be a war, I knew it was going to be 15 minutes or war, I knew it was going to be 15 minutes of war or until somebody got knocked down.”
Dumont had an inkling that, regardless of the carnage, the fight was going to be allowed to continue. That’s because of who was officiating the bout: veteran referee Herb Dean.
“Every time I fight, I check who the ref is,” noted Dumont, who went on to add “knowing it was Herb Dean, I knew he was not going to stop the fight. Once I saw that she was cut, that’s why I just kept on hitting, because I knew the fight wasn’t going to be stopped.”
With five straight wins including victories over ex-champ de Randamie and now ex-challenger Aldana, Dumont finds herself in the title picture. Unfortunately, she’s still a fight or two away: Julianna Pena fights champ Raquel Pennington next month, while Kayla Harrison meets Ketlen Vieira in a fight that likely produces the next title challenger.
“I do hope that I get the [title shot] for the belt soon, but whoever those top four, five are, I just want them to be in line,” noted Dumont, “and I’m just going to take them one at a time.”
Asked about Harrison vs. Vieira in particular, Dumont observed that “I think it’s a fair fight, I think it’s a good fight. I think Ketlen deserves maybe a title shot after that if she goes through Kayla. And Kayla as well, given her record. Although she just arrived in the division, considering her track record I think she could be a good contender for the title.”
That said, Dumont believes Harrison is likely to win, and that she herself is the only fighter at 135 prepared to be champ.
“I don’t think Ketlen has the physical ability or the technical aspect to get a win over Kayla. I respect both of them, but I think the only person in this division who has the mentality, the physical aptitudes and the qualities to be a champion is me.”
Watch the full UFC 306 post-fight press scrum with Norma Dumont above.
