PARIS, FRANCE – SEPTEMBER 28: Ailin Perez of Argentina reacts after her submission win against Daria Zelezniakova of Russia during the UFC Fight Night event on September 28, 2024 at the Accor Arena in Paris, France. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Bantamweight bad blood heads to “Sin City”.
Two Top 5-UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) women’s bantamweight contenders clash this weekend when Norma Dumont (No. 2) battles Ailin Perez (No. 4) inside UFC Vegas 121“Prelims” undercard this weekend (Saturday, September 26, 2026) at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Despite this potential title loss being completely buried in the preliminary portion of the card, this UFC Vegas 121 fight offers more excitement than any other fight.
And the bad blood is very real.
Perez, the UFC’s resident twerker, has been calling for a fight against Dumont for almost three years now, even dubbing the match “Battle of the Donkeys.” Dumont, however, repeatedly ignored the Argentine’s attention.
After last year Raquel Pennington pulled out of a scheduled Noche UFC 3 fight against Dumont, Perez raised his hand to intervene. According to Perez Dumont rejected the replacement meeting before blocking him on social media.
The contracts have finally been signed and the two Bantamweight rivals will be able to shake hands this weekend. For Dumont, the fight couldn’t have been more personal.
“It’s a fight that literally has personal grudges, personal issues that the two of us have against each other,” Dumont said. MMA fight recently. “It’s a fight we’re going to get a lot of. I’m excited, I really want it. I think it’s going to be fun … She’s got mental issues. This girl really has mental issues. She’s got that little game of trying to work people over.”
“Since he signed, I’ve been focused on beating him on the 26th,” Dumont continued. “I don’t need to say anything else; I don’t need to fall for his bait or play along with the little things he likes to do. He’s not someone who has a lot of shame about anything, personal life or otherwise, so now that the contract is signed, I already have a date to beat him, I have time to do what I need to do, I have time to do what I need to do, so he does absolutely nothing without me wanting to do a fight.”
It seems that the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) is not needed for this.
Due to the close rivalry, Dumont expects to fight much more aggressively than usual.
“I always say it’s more fun to beat someone you don’t like,” Dumont said. “Training with someone you like is harder because sometimes you hold back so you don’t hurt them. And when you fight someone you don’t like, you want to hurt them, so it doesn’t matter where you hit them or what you hit them with. You want to cause damage. I’ve been with so many people I’ve had problems with. When I think about it, sometimes I’m very calm about things. I think I get angry. more aggressive.”
“I’ll stop him before the last round,” Dumont concluded. “This fight won’t last 15 minutes. I guarantee you that. It won’t last 15 minutes.”
If Dumont fulfills that promise, it will mark his first finish inside the Octagon.
The Brazilian loses a unanimous decision Joselyne Edwardswhich snapped his impressive six-game winning streak. Perez, meanwhile, has won six straight since losing in his UFC debut.
Is there blood? Who knows. But there will undoubtedly be bad blood.