A fight between Ailin Perez and Norma Dumont is set to headline the UFC event at the Meta Apex on September 26.
A battle of top UFC bantamweights will be headlining the Meta Apex in one of the final events of the summer as surging contender Ailin Perez meets perennially top-ranked Norma Dumont on September 16 in a long-awaited bout. Perez confirmed the news on her social media on Friday morning.
Ailin Perez confirms her bout with Norma Dumont for the September 26 event at the Meta Apex.
Photo per Perez’s Instagram pic.twitter.com/O3oTKjB4Sz— Gabriel Gonzalez (@DoubleGonTV) July 17, 2026
Perez (13-2) rides a six fight win-streak that has put her on the short list of contenders to break through into the historically gridlocked women’s bantamweight title picture. The 31 year-old has victories over current top contender Joselyn Edwards, Macy Chiasson, Karol Rosa, and Lucie Pudilova to reach this spot. The Argentinian contender was also the first to begin calling for the bout with Dumont over a year ago.
Dumont (13-3) is looking to get back into the win-column following an April loss to Joselyn Edwards that snapped a strong six fight win-streak that had her on the cusp of locking in a potential title shot. “The Immortal” had strung together victories over former champion Germaine de Randamie, and top contenders Irene Aldana and Ketlen Vieira prior to the bout. The 35 year-old has said in response to Perez’s call outs that when the offer of making the bout came up that Perez did not accept the fight.
The fight comes at a crucial time in the bantamweight division. The hope is that either late this year or early next year the fight between reigning champion Kayla Harrison and long-time champion Amanda Nunes will materialize. The winner of this bout would certainly be in the running for the next shot at the belt or even be on the timetable to take another fight if necessary as they await the title to be back up for grabs.
