Norma Dumont has the opportunity to enter the Top 5 of the bantamweight division with a victory this Saturday (14)

Born in Belo Horizonte, Norm Dumont faces the Mexican Irene aldana this Saturday (14), in the last fight of the preliminary card of UFC 306. If she wins, the Brazilian will become one of the five best placed in the bantamweight division (up to 61,2 kg) and will be very close to a title fight.

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In an exclusive interview with SUPER FIGHTS, the athlete spoke about her expectations for the confrontation and how she intends to implement her strategy when facing Aldana, who challenged Amanda nunes for the category title in June 2023.

“Her strong point is her resilience. She is very strong, very resilient, can take a lot of hits, has heavy hands and causes a lot of damage. She is an athlete who will hurt you if you face her, but she also has a lot of weaknesses, both standing and on the ground. I have been following Irene for many years, I had already asked for this fight a few times and when it was official I only finished studying her game. I know exactly how she moves inside the octagon,” she said in a conversation with reporter Igor Ribeiro.

Despite living the best moment of her career, the fighter said she does not feel intimidated by the challenges imposed.

“The most pressure I felt in a fight was against Germaine (de Randamie) because she is a former champion who had only lost to Amanda (Nunes) within the organization. Against Irene I feel absolutely nothing. I feel like she is an opponent, that I have to get past her to get the belt. And that is what I am going to do.”

UFC in the Sphere

In addition to the opportunity to become one of the main challengers in the category, the UFC 306 will also reserve an unprecedented experience for Norm Dumont. This is because the event will take place at Esfera, a futuristic arena that opened in 2023 and will host a sports attraction for the first time.

According to the athlete, even though the location of the match may arouse natural curiosity, it will hardly change her performance.

“I haven’t been able to go inside the waiting room yet. I think everyone is very curious to know how it will be. All the athletes are very sensitive to this. They are waiting to feel and see if it will be okay. I think it will only get in the way if there are flashing lights, something to attract the attention of the athletes. Because otherwise, we think that at that moment there is someone in front of you and they could hit you. We can’t think of many things (laughs),” he assured.

Legacy

Despite being at the peak of her career in pursuit of the title, the fighter is already seen as a reference for several other athletes in the squad. When asked about this and how she imagines her legacy will be after the end of her career, Norma said she was grateful for the admiration and hopeful for the future.

“It’s an honor, because we work hard to gain recognition. This is great, because it shows that it’s worth it. So, I’m very happy. I’m always very receptive to all the athletes in the organization, I always help when I can and I’m really happy to be a role model for the new generation, and soon, with the belt in my hand, I’m sure I’ll be able to inspire them even more,” she concluded.