Holly Holm set to return to featherweight, face Norma Dumont on October 16
Although she had been campaigning for a rematch against Miesha Tate, former UFC bantamweight champion Holly Holm will reportedly be returning to action inside the UFC’s featherweight division and face Norma Dumont on October 16, which is scheduled to be a Fight Night on the UFC schedule.
The fight was first reported by Damon Martin and Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting. There has been no venue or location announced for the fight, as the UFC has also not yet announced a main event for the fight night event.
This will be the first fight in a year for Holly Holm who picked up a unanimous decision victory over Irene Aldana back in October of 2020. Holm had been scheduled to face Julianna Pena in May of this year but, was forced to withdraw from the fight due to injury. The fight against Dumont will also be Holm’s return to featherweight, where she last fought back in 2018 when she defeated Megan Anderson by unanimous decision at UFC 225.
Norma Dumont will enter the fight against Holm on a two-fight winning streak, with her victories coming against Felicia Spencer and Ashlee Evans-Smith, within the last 10 months. 6-1 as a professional, Dumont has gone 2-1 in her UFC tenure with her only loss coming in her debut against Megan Anderson back in 2020. Two of Dumont’s three fights have taken place in the featherweight division, as the UFC continues to search for challengers for two-weight champion, Amanda Nunes.
In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Holly Holm expressed her desire for a rematch against Miesha Tate dating back to their 2016 championship fight at UFC 196, which saw Tate defeat Holm and win the first title of her UFC career. After Tate returned recently after a five-year layoff and became the first woman to stop Marion Reneau, she said anyone in the UFC’s bantamweight division, including Holm, “can get it” as she prepares to make a second run at the world title she once used to hold.
Here are the reported matchups that are set for October 16, although nothing has been officially finalized and announced by the UFC:
- Andrei Arlovski vs Carlos Felipe
- Holly Holm vs Norma Dumont
- Ludovit Klein vs Nate Landwehr
- Maryna Moroz vs Luana Carolina
- Ariane Carnelossi vs Istela Nunes
