The UFC women’s bantamweight division is not satisfied with its current title fight situation.
135 pounds as a whole has collectively regrouped a little since the long-serving Queenpin Amanda Nunes retire in June 2023. This therefore led to the vacant title acquisition The Ultimate Fighter 18 (TUF) Veteran, Raquel Pennington. “Rocky” won the title by unanimous decision against Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC 297 last January.
Before Pennington makes her first title defense against the former champion Julianna Pena UFC 307 in October will feature several fights between the top contenders, starting with Brazil’s Norma Dumont against Mexico’s Irene Aldana. Dumont, 33, is looking to extend her winning streak to five (11-2 overall) by defeating the former title challenger at Noche UFC on Sept. 14 at the Las Vegas Sphere. Like her Brazilian counterpart, who has a big upcoming fight, Ketlen VieiraDumont is also not too happy with the promotion’s decision regarding the title fight.
“It was really a slap in the face to the entire division,” Dumont told MMA Mania. “Julianna, who hasn’t really won a single fight, hasn’t fought in so long, and even though she beat Amanda, Amanda just wasn’t Amanda that day. She just wasn’t there. Then in the other fight, she took the full beating she took in three nights in one night. That was the real Julianna.”
“Then she comes back after two and a half years of running away from every fight that was offered to her, only to be given a gift and fight for the belt. Yeah, that’s really not good. A slap in the face of the division, but also not the first time that’s happened.”
Pena’s rematch with Pennington will be her first fight since losing the title in the Nunes rematch in July 2022. Nunes won the fight via unanimous decision before retiring with a win against Aldana.
Ultimately, Dumont believes the title fight against Bueno Silva revealed a lack of depth in the 135-pound division, but with the emergence of new contenders like her and Kayla Harrisonthere’s freshness at the top. As for the title fight itself, Dumont predicts we’ll hear “and still” on fight night. That’s not to say she’s particularly impressed with the current titleholder, though.
“I think Raquel wins this fight, not because I think she’s a dominant champion, because I don’t,” Dumont said. “I just think Julianna is so bad. I mean, she was beaten by Germaine (by Randamie). I mean, come on. It’s weird to say Raquel is going to win something, but I think she’s going to win this time.”
A win over Aldana would put Dumont in a great position to challenge for the title, or at least maintain her position. With Vieira vs. Harrison taking place on the same night as Pennington vs. Pena, Dumont knows her performance will be crucial to her chances of overtaking the winner of that fight.
“I was supposed to fight for the belt at featherweight, but with the top four (at bantamweight) being so close right now, I think I might have to fight one more time before I win the belt,” Dumont said of a potential win over Aldana. “Everyone just got their fights scheduled, so who knows? I think it will depend on how everyone does. I don’t think it’s impossible and I’ll be ready.
“I think this will be my best performance in the UFC yet. I think my experience and the things I’ve experienced have eliminated some doubts and obstacles I had in the Octagon. The Norma you’ll see in September is the best version of Norma you’ve ever seen.”
