UFC bantamweight Norma Dumont is campaigning for an interim title bout with Amanda Nunes after 135-pound Kayla Harrison was forced to undergo neck surgery, and her head coach Diego Lima is confident that the UFC could make it happen.
Nunes decided to end her retirement and return to action to challenge former teammate in the co-main event of UFC 324 on Jan. 24, and Harrison said on Thursday that the bout was “postponed” after her surgery. Nunes has yet to comment on the situation, and it’s still unclear how long it will take for Harrison to be cleared to fight again.
“The Lioness” is a former two-division champion in the UFC and last fought in June 2023, beating Irene Aldana in her final UFC appearance. For Lima, the fact she decided to put the gloves back on means that waiting indefinitely for Harrison wouldn’t make much sense.
“I think there are pros and cons,” Lima told MMA Fighting. “Amanda took a long time to decide to come back and she did come back, she prepared herself, she trained, she’s ready, she wants to work. You can’t tell someone like that to stop everything without giving her a goal, a date, a clear horizon. That’s not good. Even if she might want to choose to fight Kayla because Kayla is the champion and sells well, I think the downsides are also very big. So I think for Amanda to stay active and truly make her return now that she’s decided to do that, the belt is what matters most for her.”
With that in mind, the Chute Boxe head coach argues why Dumont should be the one to challenge her fellow Brazilian for an interim title.
“I believe it’s the only fight that makes sense,” Lima said. “I don’t see why you should freeze a division because of an injury. The best thing to do is definitely let the division move on. We don’t know how long Kayla will be out. It could be six months, it could be a year. We don’t know. And it’s a division with other fighters who are chasing a dream, pursuing a dream.
“Amanda ruled this division for a long time, and now she’s coming back, and nothing makes sense for her but a title fight. I think the right thing to do is for Amanda to fight for the interim belt, and definitely against Norma Dumont. Am I biased to say this? Maybe. But I think anyone who understands MMA, anyone who follows the division and the UFC knows there’s no other fight to make besides Amanda vs. Norma.”
Dumont is currently riding a six-fight winning streak in the promotion, the last three at bantamweight against Germaine de Randamie, Irene Aldana and Ketlen Vieira.
“Who else in the division is on a winning streak like Norma has? No one,” Lima said. “Norma is on a six-fight winning streak, ranked No. 3. It’s hard to get a fight for Norma. The higher-ranked fighters always avoid her. Literally. She goes on Instagram and calls people out and the fight gets discussed internally, and there’s always an excuse. So yes, they run from her. That’s the reality. I believe, and I’m sure that Amanda is a very tough fighter and she wouldn’t run. So I think it’s fair, Amanda vs. Norma for the interim title. I believe in that, I have a lot of faith that it can happen, and I believe it’s the fight the UFC has to make.”
