Kayla Harrison is arguably the most well-liked bantamweight on the UFC roster since Amanda Nunes, and Norma Dumont hopes Harrison can entice Nunes to un-retire by profitable the 135-pound title in 2025.
Raquel Pennington at the moment sits on the high of the bantamweight mountain after claiming the vacant title with a win over Mayra Bueno Silva earlier this 12 months and defends it subsequent versus Julianna Peña within the co-main occasion of UFC 307 on Oct. 5. Harrison is 1-0 within the promotion after dominating Holly Holm, and would possibly get a title shot if she beats Ketlen Vieira on the identical card.
Dumont was profitable in her bantamweight debut by beating former 145-pound champion Germaine de Randamie by way of resolution, her fourth straight victory contained in the octagon, and faces Irene Aldana this weekend at UFC 306 at Sphere in Las Vegas. Dumont laments the actual fact the burden class lacks star energy.
“Holly isn’t that a lot of a sophisticated prey anymore,” Dumont mentioned in an interview with MMA Combating. “That doesn’t imply she’s a straightforward combat, however she’s not a giant reward anymore. Pennington was by no means a giant prize both. She’s a strong athlete, however she’s not spectacular in any space. Julianna doesn’t persuade anybody — all people is aware of that. Kayla Harrison is the one one left, actually. Kayla Harrison actually is the massive prize as a result of she’s a strong athlete.”
Dumont doesn’t see the previous PFL champion as an unstoppable drive within the division regardless of her dominant debut.
“She sucks on the toes, she doesn’t even know tips on how to stroll within the octagon, however her grappling is absurdly absurd,” Dumont mentioned of the two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo. “You will have somebody that’s absurd in a single space, so it’s a must to fully nullify that facet of her sport, and that makes it an attention-grabbing combat. Her head is the largest prize proper now, the lottery ticket of the division, so I hope she wins the belt and I take it from her.”
Dumont additionally hopes that having Harrison as UFC champion convinces Amanda Nunes to finish her retirement. “The Lioness” walked away as two-division champion again in June of 2023, and appeared irritated that Harrison didn’t name out her after beating Holm in her first UFC look. Nunes informed MMA Combating again in 2022 that a part of her resolution to depart American Prime Workforce was on account of Harrison being on her “territory” at ATT.
“I believe Amanda is torn on coming again,” Dumont mentioned. “It’s laborious for us athletes to retire, particularly a younger and bodily match girl like her. I believe [her return] is determined by who wins the belt. I believe she might need one thing private with Kayla and he or she wouldn’t settle for seeing Kayla Harrison with the belt. However it’s a must to soak up consideration for the way lengthy she’s out, which makes it more durable for a return. We are able to’t underestimate that.”
“For my part, I don’t assume Amanda returns,” she continued. “I don’t know if Amanda desires it anymore. From the underside of my coronary heart, I need her to return again, as a result of then we’d have two huge prizes within the division. To turn into one of many greats, I would like huge prizes. I can’t simply beat a bunch of nobodies. Amanda beat up the whole division however solely turned a star when she knocked out Cris Cyborg. Kayla Harrison can win the belt as we speak however individuals will say she wouldn’t do it if Amanda was nonetheless round, and that sucks for the athlete.”
The official UFC bantamweight rankings at the moment have Julianna Peña, Ketlen Vieira, Kayla Harrison, Macy Chiasson and Irene Aldana within the top-5 in that order, with Dumont at the moment sitting at No. 9. The highest 15 additionally contains names like Chelsea Chandler, who’s but to efficiently make 135 kilos within the UFC.
“I’m being completely sincere right here,” Dumont mentioned, “I actually hoped that Cris may make weight, that [Larissa] Pacheco may make weight, and Amanda got here again, so we may type an absurd division that the champion may definitively say, ‘That’s it, I’m the f*cking greatest.’
“Anyway, I’ll simply need to do an amazing job with what I’ve in entrance of me. We nonetheless have robust athletes. Irene is one among them, Macy is one among them, and so are Ketlen, Pennington and Kayla Harrison. I might solely get Julianna out of there as a result of she’s simply median, however the different ones are robust. We have now tough opponents, however we don’t have huge names.”
