UFC Vegas 40: Norma Dumont easily defeated Aspen Ladd

At UFC Vegas 40, Norma Dumont accomplished just enough to win her maiden major event by unanimous decision over Aspen Ladd. Dumont's lead jab was continuously smacking Ladd in the face throughout the five-round battle, and Ladd's offensive output was essentially non-existent in her first fight back in nearly two years following extensive reconstructive knee surgery. Dumont had definitely earned the victory when the battle concluded, though it's hard to believe she'll have many highlights to admire if the fight is replayed in the future.

The bout was scored 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47 by the judges, giving Dumont her third win in a row and second in the featherweight division.

After the fight, Dumont told Ladd, "I know she took the fight on short notice, but I want to tell her right now that she's a 145 [pound fighter]." "She fights at 145 pounds, where she has all of the strength and power, and I want her to stay in this [weight class]."

Outside of Dumont aiming to establish her lead jab while keeping Ladd on the end of her punches, there wasn't much activity at the start of the bout. During the first seven minutes of the bout, Ladd was virtually completely passive before finally pushing forward to try for a takedown, which Dumont easily thwarted.

“That’s what we trained for,” Dumont said about her takedown defense. “We know her strength is ground and pound. In order for you to take me down, it’s going to take a lot cause I’m really good in my defenses.”

Dumont's ability to jab Ladd in the face was the only weapon she needed to keep dancing on the outside while remaining quick on her feet.

Ladd's coaches pleaded with her between the second and third rounds to start engaging more after a lack of offence in the first 10 minutes allowed Dumont to gain an advantage on the scoreboards. As a result, Ladd rushed forward in search of the takedown, but Dumont held his ground well before separating and returning to the octagon's centre.

Dumont wasn't raising her volume, but she was still hammering away at the jab, and Ladd wasn't responding with much. Dumont was doing just enough to keep ahead of the game without taking too many risks, yet she was still winning.

Ladd's strange performance enraged her head coach, Jim West, who yelled from the corner, "you're down 3-0... "Could you just tell me what you're up to?" as he tried to kickstart her performance in order to make a comeback.

In the fifth round, Ladd finally reacted by closing the distance and attempting to outmuscle Dumont in the clinch while peppering the cage with blows. As the punches continued to come to the head and then back down to the body, Ladd was able to extract blood from Dumont's nose.

Dumont began firing knees to the body and then lifting her hands in jubilation as the seconds ticked away until the final horn sounded, realising she would be going with the victory.

Dumont put in a respectable effort despite facing a completely different type of opponent in Ladd than she would have faced against previous champion Holly Holm, who was forced to withdraw due to a knee injury.

After defeating Ladd on Saturday night, featherweight champion Amanda Nunes is still looking for a fight at 145 pounds, and Dumont could be the most plausible next opponent for her.