Norma Dumont didn’t get the opponent she wanted on Saturday night,
but she was grateful to be able to have a fight nonetheless.
The Brazilian relied on her jab, clinch work and solid takedown
defense to earn a five-round verdict over Aspen Ladd in the UFC
Fight Night 195 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday
night. Ladd was a short notice replacement for Holly Holm, who
withdrew from the main event after suffering a knee injury.
“I knew (Ladd) was going to give me a fun fight,” Dumont said at
Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “She saved me because we
were on the verge of not having one. She is a tough fighter, she is
a fun fighter and I’m very glad we were able to get this
accomplished.”
The fight was generally a lackluster affair, in large part because
Ladd offered little in the way of meaningful offense for the
majority of the five rounds. Ladd, who normally competes at
bantamweight, agreed to take the fight two weeks after a failed
weight cut resulted in the cancellation of her clash with Macy
Chiasson. Still, Dumont believes she deserves more credit than she
received for limiting Ladd’s efforts.
“Aspen did exactly what she does in her other fights, except this
time she actually faced a fighter that can hit her, can stop her
from doing it. She’s not a fool,” Dumont said. “She knew if she
came towards me I was going to knock her out.”
With reigning featherweight champion Amanda Nunes currently
scheduled for a 135-pound title defense against Julianna Pena at
the end of the year, the 145-pound weight class is in something of
a holding pattern. While Nunes attends to other matters, Dumont
suggested a rebooking of the Holm fight — only this time with
higher stakes.
“I don’t want the division to get stagnant. I want us to have
fights, so I’m totally willing to have that fight. I understand
Amanda is going to do a title defense and then later on a possible
fight with Valentina [Shevchenko], so we’d only be able to meet
mid-year next year. I definitely don’t want to be not fighting that
long. I think a fight, even for interim belt with Holly, could
bring some attention to the division and have other athletes come
into the division with the winner of this fight to go on and face
Amanda.”
What’s clear is that with three consecutive wins, Dumont has
suddenly emerged as a top contender in a perpetually shallow
division.Competing at the top of a card is something Dumont admits
she could become accustomed to doing.
“It’s a division where we don’t know who we’re fighting I’m going
to leave it to the hands of UFC,” Dumont said. “I’ve never backed
down from a fight. I’m going to continue to prepare at the gym and
I hope it is a big name and I hope it is a main event, as well,
because I thought this was pretty cool.”